Tales of Elrios
by Megaman Model D
Summary: A story that takes place 30 years after the events of Elsword, it tells of a warrior titled as the Doctorman, who is launched unwillingly into a strange world he knows nothing about, and ends up getting caught up in the rebirth of an ancient ongoing war...
1. Prolouge

Prolouge

A traveler walks along the dirt path, taken by the many merchants of Elrios. His pack is slung over his shoulder, and his sword is at his hip. He spies a group of people up ahead. As he approaches, he sees that they are gathered around something. Calmly, the traveler asks what is wrong. No one responds, as they appear to be in shock. Pushing through the crowd he glimpses what draws their attention. A grandly dressed man is lying on the ground, barely breathing. Quickly, the traveler unslings his pack and looks for a wound. Touching a burn mark, the man coughs. "Don't worry about me," he says hoarsely. "My message is more important than my life." The traveler asks what happens, but the man only hands him a note. "Please…take this…to…Elder…"the man says, placing the note in his hand before it goes limp. The traveler sighs. He had not been here long, and already he had witnessed death. Standing, he said, "Give this man a burial," but it is to empty air. The crowd seems to have vanished. Then he hears a low chuckle from nearby. Turning, he sees a warrior standing in the shade. "Give me that note, traveler." He asks. "This matter does not concern you." The traveler looks him over, and draws his sword. "I must fulfill this man's dying wish," he says calmly. "and if you are the one who caused his fall, I will teach you the error of your ways." The warrior laughs. "You think you can fight me?" he sneers as he conjures a sword from darkness. "Me, Darkside, the Knight of Darkness?" He cackles loudly. "Because you are new to this land, I will be merciful," he says before attacking. The traveler stands his ground. He knows how he will attack, and as the Knight of Darkness brought down his blade, the traveler brought it up and blocked it. The warrior, not expecting it, staggered backwards. "How..?" Darkside whispered to himself, then he yelled, "Who are you?" The traveler merely put away his blade and replied, "I am called the Doctorman." "Well then, _Doctorman_," Darkside growled with hate burning in his eyes, "watch your back, because the next time we meet, you won't survive." Then he turned and disappeared into a portal of darkness. Doctorman sighed. He had only just arrived, and he had not only seen death, but had also managed to make an enemy. He began to wonder why he had come in the first place. Remembering the note, Doctorman picked up his pack and, after saying a prayer for the man's soul, continued along the road to Elder. Unbeknowest to him, he was being watched by another mysterious figure. "Could he be the one I am searching for?" it said to itself. "I must keep an eye on this one." It said and it continued to follow in the shadows.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

It was nightfall by the time Doctorman arrived at Elder. He only just missed the closing of the gates, and was unable to bargain his way in through the guard. "We can't trust anyone coming in at night," he said. "If you want in, you're just going to have to wait until day." So Doctorman set up a camp a short ways from the gate, sat down and ate some of the bread he brought with him. As he ate, he looked up at the night sky. _Curious,_ he thought, _that the stars look so different here._ Then he heard someone sigh. He turned to look at the guard nearby, but he was sound asleep. Believing it to be his imagination, he returned his attention to his meal.

Then a voice said, "You are intrigued by the stars, as well?" Standing up, he turned to see a woman standing in the forest. Slowly reaching for his sword, he asked, "Who are you, Miss?" The woman laughed. "You don't need to worry," she said. "I'm not going to harm you." Stepping out from the shadows, Doctorman saw her more clearly, and realized at once she was not a human, but an elf. She had flowing green hair, with two wing-like ornaments above her pointed ears. Her eyes were of a green resembling the color of spring leaves, just coming forth. She wore a green dress with white sleeves, and tapering off with long white feathers. She had a bow in her hand, though as Doctorman looked closer, he saw it had no string. She smiled. "I don't think a little bread is going to get you through the night," she said, tossing her hair over her shoulder. "It will be enough until I can get inside," he replied. "I only plan on staying here till dawn." "Well, it might do to have some company at least," she said cheerfully, sitting down next to him around the fire. "May I ask your name, Miss?" the Doctorman asked politely. "I am Ilene," she said. "and you are…?" "I am called Doctorman," he said, and he broke his bread and handed some to her.

She took it with a smile, and asked, "So why are you going to Elder?" "I have a message I am supposed to deliver," he said, taking out the note. "however, I am unsure what it is or who to give it to." Ilene saw the seal on the note and quickly stood up and pointed her bow at him. "How did you get that?" she asked. Putting his hands up, the Doctorman explained the incident along the road concerning the man and Darkside. After hearing this, Ilene said, "If you had told this to the guard, he would have certainly let you in!" Quickly, she ran to the sleeping guard by the gate and said, "Let us in, we have news for Hoffman!" The guard wakes up at the sound of Hoffman. "What, the messenger arrived?" She took a deep breath."The messenger is dead, but this man," she said, gesturing towards Doctorman, "was given the information before he died." The guard glanced at Doctorman. "How do we know we can trust him?" he questioned. Ilene's anger flared, and she demanded, "Let us through, before I report you to Lenphad!"

After hearing this threat, he quickly shouted, "Open the gates!" As soon as the order was given, the gates began to be pulled up. Ilene walked briskly through, and said, "This way, Doctorman." Doctorman followed close behind, relieved that Ilene had been able to allow him into Elder. But he was unsure what is going on, and asked, "What is so important about this message?" Without breaking her pace, Ilene responded, "That note you were given has information that may cause all of Rurenisa to be on full alert. It must be relayed to Hoffman immediately." As she finished, she turned sharply and Doctorman had to jog to keep from losing sight of her in the narrow alleys she was taking. At last, they arrived at the castle gates of Elder. This time, the guards did not question Ilene when she demanded entrance.

As they walked into the castle grounds, Doctorman looked around in awe of the fancy palace. After taking it in, he caught up to Ilene as she opened the gates to the castle. The inside of the castle was just as grand, if not grander, than the outside. A man was sitting on a throne, and at the sight of Ilene, he stood up and asked, "Has news arrived from the ruins?" Ilene kneeled down in front of him, and said, "News has arrived, but I am afraid it is not going to be good. The original messenger was killed, and was brought here by this man here." Doctorman realized he had just been put on the spot, and quickly knelt down. "What is your name, sir?" "My name is Doctorman, my lord," he said, "and I apologize for the loss of your servant." The man nodded his head solemnly. "I will inform his family of his death myself. Tell me, did you happen to see his killer?" Doctorman stood up and responded with a determined look on his face, "I did, and I only just survived to bring you that note. He is a skilled swordsman who said his name was Darkside."

At this, the man stirred with unease. "Darkside? He was a demon, then?" Doctorman shook his head. "He was not a demon, but he did have an aura of darkness around him." The man sat back down on the throne. "Doctorman, you have done the people of Elder a greater service than you can imagine." He raised his scepter. "I, Hoffman, leader of Elder, hereby grant you stay here in this palace." Doctorman bowed. "Thank you, sir, but that is quite unnecessary." "Nonsense!" Hoffman exclaimed. "It is the least I can do for you! Ilene will escort you to your quarters." Ilene stood up in protest. "But sir, is this wise?" Ignoring Ilene, Hoffman told Doctorman, "Please, enjoy your stay in Elder."

Ilene took Doctorman to a tower room, with a balcony. Doctorman looked at the posh furniture, and said, "I was not expecting such fine treatment. After all, I did not do much." Ilene sighed. "Hoffman does like to overdo things sometimes, but he means well." She left the room and said, "Have a good night, Doctorman." Then he was alone in the room. He smiled. _I suppose she is the night guard for the city, _he thought to himself. He walked out to the balcony and took in the view it gave him. "Pleasant, is it not?" a voice behind him said matter-of-factly. Turning, he saw a young woman, dressed in black, with what appeared to be a crown on her head, with a large jewel in the center. Her hair was white, and her eyes were a shade of yellow. "Who are you?" he asked. He was beginning to wonder how many more times he would ask that today. She merely smiled and said, "My name is of no concern right now. But soon, our paths will cross again. I wished to see how you were, as this is much for you to take in." Curious, he asked, "How did you get in here without me hearing you?" She giggled. "All will be revealed, eventually." Then she disappeared, without warning, without a sound. And once more, Doctorman was alone. Bewildered, Doctorman decided to turn in for the day. After all, how could a wanderer take all this in without some sleep to think about it?


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

It has been three days since Doctorman reached Elder and delivered the note, and he had managed to acquaint himself with the heads of the castle. He spent a large portion of time training with the head of the guard, Lenphad. "I used to be a blacksmith," he told him when they first met. "Then when our old leader, Wally, turned out to be a traitorous whelp, we rebelled against him, and I took on the task of training warriors to protect us." Doctorman also spent some time watching the Rangers train with Luchiel, Ilene, and Corraine. Luchiel taught them the basics of close-range combat, Ilene taught them to shoot straight, and Corraine taught a select few the ways of traps. Doctorman noticed that Corraine was an elf, but unlike Ilene, her skin was dark, and her hair was tinted purple. He asked Ilene about this, as Corraine vanished after she taught her pupils. "Corraine is a Dark Elf. They are very similar to elves, but they guard the Dark El, while we guard the Light El. 25 years ago, my mother fought them, along with the other Chosen of El. But my mother made peace with the chief of the Dark Elves, and we now live in harmony. Oddly enough, she is the descendant of the Dark Elf chief, just as I am the descendant of the one who made peace with them."

Doctorman wanted to ask her about the Chosen of El, but she had a lesson to give. He decided to visit the head Alchemist, Echo, to see how she was coming along on the analysis of his sword. She said she sensed a strange presence from it, and wanted to take a closer look at it. He had just reached her studio when she suddenly opened the door, almost into his face. "DOCTORMAN!" she shouted, then noticed a startled Doctorman standing right next to her. "What is it, Ms. Echo?" he asked nervously. "Come in, I want to talk to you about your sword." He followed her in and he saw his sword laying on an observation table. "It would seem your sword is special," she said, picking up the sword and a purple El shard. "It has an unnatural aura around it, such that when I put any El shard with any traces of dark magic…" She drew the shard closer to the sword and Doctorman saw his sword glow with light, and the shard began to diminish in size. "It eliminates it, or at least weakens it." Doctorman stood speechless. "I knew it glowed near darkness, but I never expected the Lunar Sword, the sword of my ancestors, to weaken darkness!"

Echo nodded. "And if I am right, that is not the only thing your sword is capable of, but all I have are theories, and in order for them to be proven, you need to travel Elrios, as I do not have nearly enough El shards to conduct my research." She gave Doctorman back his sword. When he took it, he felt a small shift, as if the sword was happy to be back in his hands. He left Echo's studio with mixed feelings. _I did not know my sword had this power, _he thought. _I wonder what she meant by her theories._ He decided to take a stroll around the city to clear his thoughts. He saw many merchants, selling many things for what Doctorman thought to be high prices. "1 million ED for a pair of pants!?" he exclaimed when asking a merchant about his wares. "Hey, this is high-quality stuff," he responded indigently. "You don't like it, get out of here!" Deciding that the market was not the best place to be hanging around, he started walking towards a building that appeared to be a temple.

As he walked inside, he saw a large crystal floating in the back, right behind the altar. There, a young woman and a priest were arguing. "I told you, it is dangerous for you to be here! Have you not heard the news?" The priest asked of her. "Yeah, I heard," she replied. "But please, I won't go far, I just want to-" "Absolutely not!" the priest declared, making it clear he was standing firm on the matter. The young woman turned, as if to leave, but when she saw Doctorman, her face lit up and asked, "What if I went with him?" as she turned back to the priest. The priest looked at Doctorman. "You brought the news, correct?" he asked suspiciously. "Yes, I did-" "Then you should agree with me that she should not leave this place without a full entourage of guards!" the priest blurted out. "Not to be rude, sir," Doctorman offered. "But everyone needs fresh air, you can't stay in hiding forever. Sometimes you need to see what is outside." The priest looked at Doctorman, then to the young woman, then back to Doctorman. He sighed. "Very well, but if she gets even a scratch…" "I swear to keep her safe." Doctorman said, kneeling. _From whatever is after her, _he thought to himself.

The young woman, overjoyed to have her way, thanked the priest hastily, grabbed Doctorman by the arm and ran out the door, with Doctorman still trying to understand what just happened. _At least it is finally quiet, _the priest thought. Then he pulled up his hood to reveal a pig-like face. He looked to the shadows and nodded. A dark figure stepped out of the shadows…

Doctorman assessed what had happened. He had been contracted by a priest to protect a young woman while she went gallivanting across the city from a mysterious threat that he knew nothing of. "Look at that!" she exclaimed. She picked up a small spherical object accessorized to look like a little pet from a land like the one Doctorman's sword came from. "That is a Nasod drone, Miss," the friendly merchant told her. "I was given a few of those from a friend, but I only need one. Would you like a couple?" "Yes, please, they look so cute!" she said, hugging it. "For you, Miss," the merchant said, "I think I'll let them go free of charge." The young woman beamed. "Oh thank you, but I must insist you take something in return." The merchant shook her head. "Think nothing of it, I have plenty!" Happy with her new "pets", she skipped away. Doctorman noticed she seemed to float slightly longer than a normal person, but shrugged it off. _I keep imagining things, _he thought. _Maybe I need more sleep._ "Oh, look over there!" she said, derailing Doctorman's train of thought. "There is a show playing!" She took off once again, and Doctorman followed after her. _How does she have so much energy still? _He thought. _It has been 2 hours, maybe three! _Doctorman was about to ask her, when he noticed his sword was glowing. "Wait!" he called out after her, but she had already entered the theater. He rushed in after her, hoping that he was just imagining his sword glowing.

Deep down, he knew it was not worth hoping.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

He entered the theater to see a crowd of people standing around, all wearing hoods, except for the girl he was in charge of. She was at the back, waiting for him. She motioned for him to sit next to her, and Doctorman sighed with relief. He knew his sword was glowing, but at least they were in an easy position to exit the building. Someone stepped onto the stage, cloaked and began speaking boldly. "We all know the tale of the 7 Chosen Heroes of Elrios. The tale of a Red Knight, who fought with unearthly strength against demons, an Elven Maiden who's aim was true, and always hit her target. The tale of the Master Magician, who mastered magic of all kinds, from light to dark, and everything in between, the tale of the Black Mercenary, who struck fear into all who would oppose his redemption. The tale of the Nasod Queen, who revived her race not once, but twice! The tale of the Prince of Hamel, who now reigns as King and Protector of the Eastern Continent, and the Tiger Fox, who now teaches her children to follow in her path as masters of martial arts." They stopped, letting what they said soak in. After a moment, they continued. "But they have now all gone their separate ways, and even if they were to come together again, they are not nearly as strong as they were. Age has taken them, and now…" the speaker took of their hood to reveal a young girl, with the darkest purple hairand an evil look in her eyes. "The time has come for I, Speka, Queen of Darkness, to rise up and envelope Elrios in eternal darkness!"

The crowd cheered with inhuman voices-to Doctorman it sounded like grunts of large pigs. The girl at his side gasped, and at once all the creatures turned to face her. Speka looked at her, and smiled evilly. It was at this moment Doctorman decided it was no longer worth the risk to stay, and picking up the girl, he ran for the exit. Speka was in front of it. "Where do you think you're going, you naughty boy?" She said, wagging her finger. "We need that Priestess of Light to stay right here with us!" Doctorman turned to try and find another way out, but he saw he was surrounded by what he believed to be demons, though they looked more like oversized pigs with weapons.

Before Doctorman could react, Speka trapped him in a sphere of darkness, and separated him from the Priestess. Speka cackled with evil glee. "How nice, Darkside gets his revenge, and I get my world of darkness-it all works out!" Doctorman refused to let it end at this. He drew his the Lunar Sword, which at this point had began to shine so brightly he was surprised he was not blinded, and swung with all his might at the darkness around him. The shell melted, and he landed with ease. He faced Speka, and said, "Darkside will have to wait on his revenge, and you on your 'world of darkness'." Speka was surprised-Her magic had grown stronger than ever thanks to Anger and the Spirit Amethyst. A worm like him should not be able to escape. "Hmph!" she puffed. "I don't have time for you! I'll leave you to the demons, but the priestess is coming with me!" With that, she created a portal and beckoned to the orb containing the priestess. Doctorman shouted, "Sorry, you're leaving empty handed!"

He swung once again freeing the Priestess, and before Speka could trap her again, an arrow hit the ground in front of her. She looked up to see Ilene, perched on the rafters. She already had another arrow ready and aimed at her. But before she could fire again, Speka disappeared completely, leaving only the demons. "Get out of here!" Ilene yelled to Doctorman. "Even together, we can't take that many demons!" Doctorman nodded, and ran out of the building with the Priestess close behind. They ran towards the chapel, hoping there was safe enough for the Priestess. They burst through the doors, only to be confronted by Corraine, her Blade of Erendil at Doctorman's throat. The Priestess was in the arms of a demon priest. Corraine glared at him. "Tell Ilene and the elves that the dark Elves are no longer satisfied with our agreement." With that she jumped into the air, vanishing into the dark, and the demon priest attempted to create a portal to escape through. Before he could complete the spell, one of the drones the Priestess received attacked the demon, allowing the Priestess enough time to escape his grasp and run away. The demon attempted to chase after her, but Doctorman charged forward and plunged his blade into its heart.

There was no sign that the demon had felt it, but as Doctorman pulled his blade out, it fell over, clearly dead. Doctorman looked at the body, and saw it there was no blood coming out of the wound. He ran to the Priestess and asked, "Are you alright?" "Yeah," she said. "I'm fine. I could never imagine that that priest was really a demon!" Doctorman heard numerous screams and clashing blades outside. He turned to the door, yearning to go out and help them. But he had to keep the Priestess safe…or did he? He was given the order by the demon, but he tried to kill her as well. He was unsure, but he felt that she had to be protected, despite being told initially by a demon. He turned to tell the Priestess to stay, but he realized she was running towards the door. "Where are you going?" he asked, rushing after her. "I'm not going to hide," she said, her hands on the door handles. "I need to reach the castle now!" "Then I'm coming with you!" Ilene jumped down from the rafters. She glanced at Doctorman. "Thank you for guarding her, but I won't hold you to anymore responsibility-I encourage you to leave Elder at once, for your own safety." Taking the Priestess in her arms, she jumped up into the rafters again, then jumped out of an open window towards the castle. Doctorman called after her, but she was already gone. He took off out of the chapel and towards the castle. _I have to warn Ilene, _he thought. _And I want to know what in the world is going on!_


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

The streets were filled with throngs of people, running to castle for safety. Doctorman noticed there were very few people panicking-as though they had done this before. He even heard some calm conversations being held about various trivial matters, such as clothes sales and the prices of bread. Doctorman heard the clomping of boots coming, and he turned to see five demons coming towards him. They seemed to recognize him from the theater, as they pushed aside people to reach him. Doctorman lifted his sword and parried the spear thrust of the first. He ran his blade along the spear the slash the demon along its chest. It feel on its knees, and a demon dressed as an assassin jumped over it, knife poised to strike. Doctorman jumped back, but sustained an insignificant cut on his shoulder. He responded with a stab through it, and into the head of the demon behind it. He pulled his blade out to see a demon archer, with an arrow at the ready.

It fired as soon as its comrades hit the ground, but before it could reach him, another arrow snapped it in half. The demon looked up in the direction it came from, and in that time, Doctorman dashed and slit its side. The demon fell, and the two remaining demons then decided now was the time to escape, fleeing from Doctorman. Relieved that the demons were not very brave, he turned back and ran towards the palace.

Suddenly, Doctorman was standing in a pitch black area-he could not even see where he was standing. A voice called out to him. _"Doctorman…"_ He was startled, for it sounded as though it came from all directions. "Who are you?" he asked into the darkness. _"Hurry to the castle…" _it said. _"Time is short, and you are needed there." _Doctorman shouted, "How am I supposed to get there when I can't see?" _"Use your power…" _it said. _"The power you used to come here…" _Doctorman shook his head and said, "I don't even know how I used it!" _"Hurry, Doctorman…" _the voice faded, and suddenly Doctorman could see once again-and he was standing outside the castle gates. Banging on the gate, he shouted, "Let me in!" But instead of guards, he heard demons, and he realized with horror the demons were inside wreaking havoc.

Frustrated, Doctorman turned around on the spot and punched a demon coming up behind him square in the face. It stumbled back, dazed, and ran away. Then Doctorman suddenly felt at peace. He took a deep breath, turned back to the gate, and left hand on it. He felt power flowing through him, and it concentrated on his hand. Suddenly, a portal appeared where his hand was, large enough for him to walk through, leading into the castle courtyard. Calmly, he drew his hand back, walked through, and drew his sword. The portal closed behind him, and whatever power was in his hand vanished. The demon panzers had not yet noticed him and were smashing various parts of the courtyard. Doctorman saw troops alongside the tops of the walls and decided to charge across the courtyard to get inside the castle. As he neared the doors, a unique-looking panzer blocked his path. "You shall not get past Baradon the Boulder!" It declared, and it spun its flail to emphasize he would not allow Doctorman to pass.

"Let me through," Doctorman said calmly. "or I'll force my way in past you." Baradon laughed. "You think you can frighten me like those whelps out there?" he scoffed. "You need a lesson, and my flail is the perfect teacher!" He brought down his flail, but Doctorman dashed past him underneath his arm to avoid it. He rushed as fast as he could to the castle, knowing he could outrun Baradon, who was weighed down by his heavy armor. Doctorman ran inside and hurried to the throne room. _Please, Lord, _he prayed inwardly. _Let me get there in time. _

Ilene jumped back, only barely dodging the blade of Corraine. She drew back her bow in an attempt to retaliate, but had to stop so that she could dodge again. The Priestess and Hoffman stood watching from the door leading up into the tower. Hoffman was grazed with an arrow, but it was nothing serious. The Priestess' drones kept trying to get in Corraine's way, but she dodged them as though they were not even there. Ilene was being backed up into a wall-soon she would not be able to avoid Corraine's attacks any longer. Just then, Doctorman burst into the throne room. "Get out of here!" he shouted, and everyone, even Corraine, turned to see him. Ilene took this chance to kick Corraine in the stomach and jump onto the second floor balcony. Hoffman renewed his efforts and broke down the door to escape. He and the Priestess hurried up the stairs. Corraine was unable to chase after them, the wind knocked out of her by Ilene.

She glared at Doctorman. "You have interfered with our mission," she said. "I only let you live now so that-" "I can get my revenge, right?" Both of them looked at the balcony over the throne to see Darkside, an evil smile on his face. Corraine looked at him, nodded, and then jumped into the rafters after Ilene. Darkside stared intently at Doctorman. "You must the craziest one in Elrios," he said, a hint of malice in his voice, "if you did not take the chance to escape while you could." "I would rather fight against evil than run from it," Doctorman replied bravely. "Besides, I want to understand what is going on in this world!" Darkside jumped down, landing in front of the throne. "You want to know what is going on?" he asked rhetorically.

Then he crossed his arms and closed his eyes in concentration. Suddenly, he snapped his arms to his side and a blade from a dark aura in front of him. He brought up his right arm, grabbed the hilt, and spun it once in his hand before pointing it at Doctorman. "The time for light has long since passed," he said. "Then Chosen Warriors are scattered and old. They may have been of light, but light will not last forever." He brought up his free hand and used it to coat his sword in even darker magic. "The time has come for demons and darkness!" he shouted. "And I will reign over this world as King of Darkness!" Doctorman looked at him, his expression unreadable. Then he took his sword and pointed it at Darkside. "I can't let you do that," he spoke in a voice that carried far more authority than he spoke with earlier. "If want to fight me, so be it, but I promise you, I will not fall." Darkside grinned, his eyes seemingly darkened by his magic. "I'm going to enjoy making you eat your words."

The two warriors faced each other silently for a brief moment, then charged at each other. Darkside aimed his blade at Doctorman's sword arm, but he spun to avoid it, and he jabbed at Darkside's free hand. He pulled it back, but not quickly enough to avoid getting a cut along the center of his hand. Furious that Doctorman managed to get him first, he used his hand to cause darkness to form a wall between them. Doctorman cut through it, but Darkside had already jumped back and fired off a dark rune. It hit Doctorman in the chest and threw him back. Darkside lunged forward and knocked him to the ground with a kick in the same place the rune got him. He placed his cut hand on Doctorman's face, but before he could use his magic, Doctorman rolled to the side, knocking Darkside off.

"Doctorman!" a familiar voice yelled down at them. Doctorman got on his knees and saw Lenphad, cut and bruised, come out of the hallway and into the throne room. "I'll distract him while you get out of here!" he said, running at Darkside. Darkside was taken by surprise. Was every man in Elder this absurdly stupid? He flicked his fingers and shot a rune at him, then returned his attention to Doctorman…who had vanished completely. He swore. "It seems that Doctorman is craftier and more dangerous than I originally thought…" he said, then he walked to the throne. "You won't…succeed…" Lenphad coughed, clearly dying. Darkside sat in the throne and glanced at Lenphad. "I have taken Elder, and from here we can spread throughout all of the Western continent," Darkside spoke simply. "Demons galore will join us now that we have taken a base, and soon the Priestess' fate will be in my hands." Lenphad hacked blood and glared at Darkside. "Doctorman…will stop you…" Lenphad breathed no more, and Darkside sighed with relief. "Finally, he's dead. I was sick of his nonsense."

Doctorman caught up to the Priestess and Hoffman. They had reached the secret exit out of the castle when an arrow whizzed by and planted itself in the door. "Damn!" Hoffman swore. He turned to Doctorman. "Get the Priestess out of here!" he ordered, drawing a sword. "I'll hold off the demons!" Doctorman was about to protest, but the scramble of feet reminded him of the situation. He nodded, and picking up the Priestess so as to move faster, he hurried into the secret exit, the door closing tight behind them. Hoffman smiled grimly. "You are our last hope, Doctorman." Then he turned to face the hoard of demons.

Doctorman had barely escaped Elder into the forest when it was suddenly consumed by dark flames. He kept running, but looked back to see the castle completely changed. It looked nothing like it did before-now it was a dark, floating fortress that seemed to emanate darkness. When he had ran far enough that he knew there would not be anyone looking for them, he set the Priestess down and fell on the ground, exhausted. He could not believe what had just happened. Only 4 hours ago, everything was peaceful. In the course of half an hour, Darkside had taken hold of it. He wondered what the happened to Ilene and the soldiers. Suddenly, Ilene fell out of the trees. "You are not very fortunate, Doctorman," she said grimly. He looked at her and said, "Darkside was far stronger than I thought." Ilene looked solemnly at the castle. "I still can't believe Corraine betrayed us… I thought she was our friend…" Tears welled up in her eyes, but she blinked and turned to the Priestess, who was in shock for most of the invasion of the castle. Now she bowed to Doctorman and said, "I'm sorry, sir. I did not mean for this to happen. I just wanted to be normal for once…" Doctorman looked at her, and getting up, he embraced her, seeing her discomfort. "Don't worry," he said calmly. "I'm sure it would have happened anyway. We are just lucky you were unharmed." She looked into his eyes, then began crying. Ilene came up and hugged her as well, and they waited in the forest for night to fall, as they knew that they had far to go, and it would be better to go at night.


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

It was midnight. The demon search parties had left the area and returned to the castle. Ilene came down from the trees. She returned to Doctorman, awake and alert, and the Priestess, who was asleep. "Do not wake her," he told Ilene. "She needs rest after today." Ilene sat down, exhausted. "Could you tell me why the demons are after…erm, what is her name?" Ilene sighed. "Her name is Dawn, Priestess of Light. The demons are after her because of her…special power." "Special power?" Doctorman asked. Ilene looked at Dawn, still sleeping peacefully. "I really am unsure what they are," she admitted. "But that is what Hoffman told me." "I see…" Doctorman said his voice trailing off into a yawn. "We all need some sleep right now," he said, laying his head down on the grass and closing his eyes. "Don't worry," he whispered. "I'm a light sleeper-No demons will sneak up on us whilst we sleep." Ilene hesitated, then jumped up into a tree and slept there, her bow in her hand. She was still unsure what to think of this warrior, but so far he seemed to have good intentions. She thought back to when she told the Elders she was going to Elder to teach new rangers.

_"One day, Darkness will return to try and take Elrios once again. On that day, a shining light like no other will appear. It will clash with the Night, and the Night will hunt the Day. When the time comes where Night grows to cover all of the world, then the light of Daybreak will shine to oust the Night, and peace shall return once more." _The Elders told her this, and until recently she thought nothing of it. But now she was beginning to wonder if it was some kind of prophecy. The Elders do enjoy riddles, but she had never heard of them being prophets. Deciding now what not the time to think about possibly prophetic riddles, she drifted off to sleep, still watching over Doctorman and Dawn.

The sun was just rising when Doctorman woke up. He stretched and got up to get a view of the surrounding area. Dawn was still asleep, and Ilene was not to be found, not even in the nearby trees. Doctorman wondered where she went and why. After all, she was their guide-He was almost certain that they could not get anywhere without her to tell them which way to go. He heard Dawn yawn behind him, and turning to see her, he asked, "How are you this morning, Priestess?" She looked at him and smiled weakly. "As best as I can be after last night." Doctorman nodded. "Let's not dwell on it, we need to start moving. If the demons were looking for you then, most likely they will be looking for you now." "And they are," Ilene confirmed, jumping down from the trees. "I already saw a search party in the area." "Welcome back," Doctorman said politely. Ilene looked at him indignantly. _Did he forget the circumstances, or does he just not care? _She thought.

"We need to head to Bethma," she said, pointing towards the mountains. "There, one of the Chosen is, and he might be able to help us defend against the demons." Doctorman raised his hand and said, "I think the demons expect us to go that way, we might want to try to go somewhere else like, say, Sander?" "I thought you said you did not know the geography of Elrios?" Ilene asked suspiciously. "I passed by a sign that pointed to Sander on my way to Elder," he replied. "I have no trouble remembering where I have been." "Sander is so far away, and Bethma-" "If you are worried about Bethma," Doctorman interjected, "don't be. If they have a Chosen there, I don't think the demons will attack there anytime soon." Ilene hesitated. She knew Doctorman was right in trying to avoid an enemy trap, but she did not want to admit this-she was a royal guard before Doctorman had even arrived!

"I think we should go to Altera," Dawn chimed in. "The Nasod Queen might be able to help us drive the demons out of Elder." "Where is Altera?" Doctorman asked. "I did not see any signs giving directions while I traveled to Elder." "You wouldn't." Ilene said. "Altera is an island in the sky, home to Ponggos and Nasods. The only way there is by airship, and they have recently been kept to the capital city, Velder." "Is there anyone-" Doctorman started, then he stopped. He heard the sound of demons shouting, and he wanted to hear what they were talking about. If they were high-ranking demons, he could get a clearer idea of where to go. He motioned for Ilene and Dawn to get down, and they hid in the bushes as the demons passed by.

"…You hear!? Find them and you get to lead the attack on the next stronghold!" a heavily armored demon announced as the marched. "Boss!" one of the smaller demons shouted. "Why are we marching to Sander and the Dark Knight and Queen going to Bethma?" He was smashed by the armored demon's flail. They continued marching, ignoring the fact that a demon was missing in the lines. Doctorman had to put his hand over Dawn's mouth in order to keep their presence hidden. The demons marched on without another word. After they had vanished from view and were unable to be heard any longer, they got out of the bushes. "They have us trapped!" Ilene said with despair. "There is no way to get to Velder without going through Bethma, and Sander is going to be plagued with demons along the way, no doubt with messengers to alert the rest of the army!"

"You are certain that there is no one who privately owns an airship?" Doctorman asked. "Well…" Ilene trailed off. "The Crow Mercenaries own some airships, but they patrol the skies of Altera, and as such, we can't reach them." Doctorman recalled the story of the Chosen. _…the Black Mercenary, who struck fear into all who would oppose his redemption._ "Isn't there a Chosen leading them?" Doctorman asked. "Yes," Ilene said, "But there is no way to contact him except through Velder." Doctorman looked to the sky and noticed a ship flying in it. "That would not happen to be his ship, would it?" Ilene looked at it and gasped. "It is!" she cried. "But what is it doing here? What about the Altera skies?" The airship appeared to be coming in there direction, but they doubted it knew where they were. To remedy this, Ilene took the risky action of firing a Phoenix Shot into the air. Sure enough, the airship began to descend and move towards them.

But after a short time, they heard the cries of demons. Not surprisingly, they had seen fiery arrow and correctly guessed that was where the survivors of Elder were. Doctorman readied his sword and as soon as the first demon lunged through the bushes, it fell to the ground with one deft swing of his blade. Ilene began firing volleys of arrows into the thicket. From the cries that erupted after each volley, Doctorman gathered that each arrow had hit a demon fatally. Dawn sent out the drones to cover Doctorman's flank, and she herself kept close to Ilene. Then an armored demon, whom Doctorman recognized to be Baradon, charged through the thicket.

"You have nowhere to run!" he shouted. "My army has you surrounded! Surrender, and I will smash you quick and painlessly!" "While that sounds like a pleasant offer, I'm afraid I'll have to decline." Doctorman chided before thrusting his sword at him. Baradon brought up his tower shield, deflecting the attack completely, and began to spin his flail. "I told you I am Baradon the Boulder! I won't be moved, and nothing can shatter me!" Just at that moment, a cannon sounded, and the ground behind Baradon erupted into dirt, trees, and demon corpses. "Baradon the Boulder, eh?" a gruff voice said. Doctorman and Baradon both looked up to see a man in black, with a red weathered headband on, and what appeared to be a mechanical arm pointed at Baradon. "Tell me, has anyone tried melting you?" he asked calmly before a jet of fire scorched past Doctorman and directly onto Baradon's facemask. Baradon shrieked in pain, dropping his flail and shield. Doctorman took this opportunity to swing his sword at Baradon from his shoulder all the way to his hip. The force of the blow knocked Baradon on his back, and the gash in him made it clear he lived no longer. The demons, dismayed at the loss of their leader, took off towards Sander once again, only this time they were fleeing, not marching.

Doctorman sheathed his sword as the airship descended. The man stepped off of the landing platform, and Doctorman got a better view of him. His hair was graying, but it was clear the original color was a jet black. His face was scarred, as was the rest of his body. His left arm was a mechanical claw, with vents shooting out steam and was a dull black and orange. "I am Raven," he said. "The leader of the Crow Mercenaries and one of the Chosen Warriors of Elrios." "I am Doctorman," Doctorman replied, bowing. "I'm sorry to disturb you, but we need to get to Altera so the Priestess of Light may be sheltered." Raven looked them over. His eyes stopped at Ilene. "I recognize you…" he said. "You are Rena's daughter, correct?" Ilene nodded. "You are just as beautiful as your mother," he said, then he saw the Priestess. His eyes seemed to gain a little fire. "What are you doing here?" he asked her. "I thought your father told you you were too young to become a Priestess?"

Dawn looked away. Raven scowled. "I'll take you to Altera, but first we need to stop in Bethma so that Dawn's father can learn what happened to his daughter." "Thank you!" Doctorman exclaimed. Raven ignored him, and they all boarded the airship. In the trees, a figure was standing hidden. "Things are moving along as they should," it said to itself. "That warrior is doing very well…but one more test until I decide if he is trustworthy." With that, the figure disappeared from the forest. Doctorman turned. _I sensed that presence, _he thought. _Who could that be?_


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

The airship was impressive, to say the least. Doctorman had never seen such a thing. Ilene saw Doctorman's surprise and remarked, "What, they don't fly where you come from?" "Not on ships like this," Doctorman responded. Raven kept a straight face and guided them to the bridge. Along the way, Doctorman saw many workers, running about the place in masks that covered their whole head. "Why are they wearing masks?" he asked Raven. "Is there some kind of toxic gas?" "Of course not," Raven said sternly. "It is part of the uniform when on duty." Then he turned his attention back to the hallway. _He's irritated, _Doctorman thought. _I understand he is trying to bring Dawn to her father, but why is he acting like this? Does it have something to do with her special ability? _

As they entered the bridge, Doctorman saw a wide array of electronic devices. Some had Nasods operating them, others had mercenaries. Raven took his seat in the captain's chair, and called one of the Nasods. "Lead them to the bedchambers," he ordered. "And set a course for Bethma." "Very well," the Nasods responded. "Right this way," it told them, then walked back towards the hallway. They followed, though Doctorman was skeptical of Raven. _Why does he seem so uncaring right now? _He noticed Dawn was trudging slowly, with her drones on her shoulders. He frowned. He knew she was sad, and he wanted to comfort her, but he had no way of doing so. Ilene saw him and said quietly, "Don't worry about her, she will be fine." Doctorman was a little surprised by this, but he did his best to hide it. The Nasod stopped. "Here is you room, Lady Dawn," it said, opening the door to a luxurious room, with pink and white covering nearly every inch of the room, despite the rest of the ship being metallic and black. Dawn smiled weakly, and went in.

The Nasod closed the door after her, and then told Doctorman and Ilene, "Under no circumstance are you two to see Lady Dawn. She needs to prepare herself to see her father." "Who is her father?" Doctorman asked, but the Nasod ignored him and led them to two other adjacent rooms. "These are your rooms," it said emotionlessly. "I suggest you get some rest, I'm sure you had a long night last night." Ilene nodded, and quickly went into her room. Doctorman entered his room. He noticed it was drastically different than Dawn's room. It had a black metallic floor with rivets poking out of the floor. When he sat on the bed, it felt slightly hard and the pillow was about as thin as a cracker. The blankets were of poor fabric, and Doctorman thought, _Exactly how do the mercenaries live with this? _Sighing, Doctorman stored his equipment in the nearby chest and went to shower. He was a little tired of smelling demon all the time.

"Where is he?" Darkside questioned Stella, head of the Bethma Guard. "Where is the Chosen!?" "He is away," she said calmly. "traveling across the world, teaching the young generation of fighters. I understand-" "GAAAAHH!" Darkside growled. "How am I supposed to get my revenge if he is not here!?" "Calm down," Speka said, "you are making a scene!" Indeed, the town was all staring at them. Darkside, frustrated, shouted, "What, surprised to see a warrior asking about the Chosen?" Speka shook her head. _He is so temperamental, _she thought. _But when he gets his revenge he will change. _"How about we go to Altera?" she suggested. "If he went there, he would no doubt be spending some time there, seeing as he fought alongside the Nasod Queen."_ And I could confirm what my research told me, _she thought to herself.

"Very well," Darkside scowled. "I suppose we can pay a visit to the floating island. I hear there is an artifact there that you are interested in, anyway." With that, he walked briskly away towards the docking station in Bethma. _Just you wait, _he cursed inwardly. _I will have my revenge on you, Red Knight! _

"It's no use," Doctorman said aloud, getting out of his bed. "At least the ground is covered in grass to cushion it-this bed is as hard as stone." He checked the clock on the wall. He could not tell the time by it-it had markings on it he did not recognize. He looked at his watch, which he had on at all times. It read 5:47. He sighed, and went to put on his equipment to train on the ship's deck. When he got out there, he noticed Dawn standing on the prow of the ship. She was wearing an elegant dress and her hair was braided and decorated with jewels. He approached her and said, "Couldn't sleep either?" She turned around quickly. "Doctorman..." she responded, a hint of hope in her voice. "what are you doing out here?" "Well, the beds on this ship are not that comfy," he admitted. "And I wanted to practice my swordsmanship anyway." "I see…" Dawn sighed. "Are you alright?" Doctorman asked.

All of a sudden, Dawn began to cry. "I don't want to go back," she said, trying to keep from sobbing. "What do you mean?" Doctorman inquired, drawing closer to her. "I mean, your father must be a nice man to have a Chosen look for you." She looked away. "My father is nothing like that," she responded darkly. "He cares more for his own wealth and life than anything else. As long as he has money for alcohol and entertainment, he could not care less about the state of the world." Tears began to pour down her cheeks. "He let my mother die," she sobbed, "And he could have saved her with his vast wealth. But he cared nothing for her or for me-Even when I was born, he was away on one of his extravagant trips!"

Doctorman was shocked. He never would have imagined Dawn was treated badly. "It's alright," he told her, putting his arm around her to comfort her. "I'll go with you to confront your father-if he has not changed, then I will certainly convince him to leave you alone." She sniffled, laying her head on his shoulder. "Thank you," she whispered. The two of them stayed there for a little while, watching the stars. "Well, that does it," a voice said. Both of them turned around to see the mysterious girl who had appeared to Doctorman in Elder. "You have proven yourselves worthy," she said. "Who are you," Doctorman asked, "and worthy of what?" She pushed some hair out of her face. "I am Eve, Queen of the Nasods," she said. "And you have proven yourselves worthy to know why Darkness is beginning to spread. However, I will only tell you if you truly wish to know and fix it." Dawn was staring at Eve, surprised that she was considering her worthy. "Yes…I want to know," she said slowly. Doctorman nodded in agreement. Eve smiled gently. "In that case, I want you two to meet me in Altera. There I will tell you how these times came upon us." She looked at Doctorman. "You have a great role to fill, should you take on this knowledge," she told him solemnly. "If you take on this task, you will be here for much longer than I believe you intended." Doctorman was silent. Eve looked at him for a little longer, then said, "Take care of my spiritual daughter."

With that, she vanished, leaving a bewildered Doctorman and Dawn behind. Doctorman was trying to understand how Eve knew he was not from around Ploune, and Dawn was trying to wrap her head around her being Eve's "spiritual daughter". They told each other good night, and returned to their rooms to try and get some sleep before reaching Bethma, which they saw in the near distance. Soon, they told each other, they would find out what exactly was going on with the world.


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

They arrived in Bethma that morning. Raven called them all to the bridge and gave them instructions on how to conduct themselves if they still wanted to go to Altera. "You will ensure that you are back at the airship by the time the sun is setting. Also, if you cause any trouble of any kind, I will not allow you back on. It is a privilege to be on board my ship, so you better treat it as such!" "Understood," Ilene and Doctorman said. "I will take Dawn to her father by myself-no one is to accompany us." He eyed Doctorman warily. Doctorman returned his gaze with a determined look in his eyes. _I need to convince Dawn's father to let her continue to Altera, _he told himself. _She was given the right to learn why the world is under demonic invasion, and she will get it. _

They got off the airship, and almost immediately, Raven took off with Dawn following behind him. Doctorman took a little time to take in the view. The orange mountains were tall, and he thought he saw a couple dragons flying in the air. As he entered the village, he saw what appeared to be lizards walking around on two legs. A gruff voice laughed. "You never seen Lizardmen, buch?" He look to see a slightly mystical looking Lizardman, as he called himself, with elaborate robes and feathers on his head. "I am Cachua Buch, oldest Lizardman of all," he said, his voice hoarse. "and the best alchemist in Bethma!" Doctorman bowed. "It is an honor to meet you," he said respectfully. "I heard about you from Echo, the alchemist of Elder." He laughed. "She's one of the youngest alchemists I know, but also the most brilliant!"

Doctorman then thought of something. "Would you be so kind as to look at my sword?" he requested. "Why do you ask this, buch?" Cachua asked. "Echo told me my sword had unique properties, but she only found one, and did not have time to test the rest of her theories." He handed his sword the Cachua. He observed it intently. "I can feel some of the fire of the Dragon's nest," he said. "radiating outward…and I can feel an aura of light around it…" Doctorman was stunned, and when Cachua saw his face, he laughed heartily. "Did Echo not mention I can tell the properties of something just by observing it, buch?" Doctorman shook his head. Still laughing, the Lizardman handed the sword back to Doctorman. "Your sword has an unusual aura around it," he told him. "If I am not mistaken, you knew nothing of the fire in your sword, buch?" Doctorman nodded. "I only knew of the light until now." Cachua went into a trance, deep in thought for a couple of minutes, then told Doctorman, "My guess would be that the sword absorbs some of the natural element in an area, and adds it to its own. Elder is very well known for being home to the Temple of Light, so you sword may have picked it up from there."

Then there was a loud chime, echoing throughout the village. Cachua stood up, balancing himself with his cane. "It is not often such a chime rings out," he said. "But I would not get there in time to see what is happening. Would you be so kind as to go find out what is going on and tell me?" he asked Doctorman. "No problem," he replied, and he rushed off to see. _I hope Dawn is not in trouble, _he thought, worried. When he arrived at the town square, he saw a rich-looking man standing on a platform. "I demand your attention!" he shouted angrily. "This girl has come back and claims to be my daughter Dawn!" he motioned towards Dawn, who was being held by Lizardmen warriors. "However," he continued. "She refuses to do what I tell her to do, though she submitted each time before! I hearby denounce her as my daughter, and demand her execution for her insolence!"

"NO!" Doctorman shouted, drawing his sword and leaping to the stage. The Lizardmen guards were caught off guard, and Dawn was able to escape from them. "You fools!" The rich man shouted. "You let her get away!" Doctorman swiftly hit him in the back of the head using the hilt of his sword, knocking him unconscious, then turned his attention to the recently offended Lizardmen. They charged him with their curved swords slashing in unison like scissors. He ducked and stabbed his sword into the chest of one, and swung it through his side into the other one. The one he stabbed crumpled to the floor, but the other was merely wounded, and with its adrenaline fueling it, it tried to chop off Doctorman's sword arm.

Doctorman pulled his sword back, barely in time to have it clash with the Lizardman's to avoid being cut. He felt the strain in his arm, and he quickly learned of the Lizardman's inherent strength. The Lizardman grinned malevolently. Suddenly, an arrow lodged itself in its eye, and it screeched in pain. Taking advantage of this lapse in pressure, Doctorman disarmed the Lizardman and slit its throat. Behind him, he heard Dawn yelp, and turning he saw a figure similar to Raven holding her by the neck with his black and orange claw. His eyes were hidden, and he appeared as though he was a living shadow.

"Come any closer, and she dies," it said demonically, without feeling. "I have orders from my Mistress to bring this Priestess to me, but I have no qualms about slaying her. Anyone who interferes will be destroyed, along with her." Then he calmly walked away, Dawn writhing in his grasp. "Struggle all you want," he said. "You will not escape me." Suddenly, a pillar of light engulfed them, and the demonic shade was launched into the air-without Dawn. Dawn was just outside the pillar, and had a focused look on her face. As the shadow was still airborne, she swung her hand, and a spear of light stabbed the shadow through the side. It was stuck into the side of a nearby mountain, dangling over the side of a cliff.

The shadow turned its head towards Dawn. "So this is the power of the Priestess," it commented, in no apparent pain. "I now understand why my mistress needs you captured." With that, it disappeared into nothingness. Dawn released her focus, and the spear dispersed. Doctorman was amazed by what he just saw. _What power she has! _He thought. _Though I feel it extends beyond what I just saw. _He noticed her shaking, and ran over to her just in time to keep her from collapsing onto the ground. _It must have taken a lot out of her, _he thought hurriedly. _I need to get her somewhere where she can rest. _

A hand fell on Doctorman's shoulder, and he turned to see Raven standing there. "I see now I had no reason to doubt you," he said solemnly. "You are a worthy warrior and protector. I should never have tested you or her by my actions." "You mean," Doctorman asked with surprise, "this was a test?" Raven nodded. "The Chosen have been waiting for your arrival, though we never expected you would come in our lifetimes. It is probably why the Red Knight is not here right now-that or he got bored." He walked off towards the airport. "Come, I will take you all to Altera."


	9. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Bethma was in an uproar by now. Their rich leader had proven himself to be a selfish, evil man, they had a powerful demon attack, and they had no way to defend themselves as the Chosen had left on a trip. It took Raven some time to get through the crowd and convince them that they were safe, despite not having a Chosen around. Raven declared Ilene to be the new guardian of Bethma until the Chosen returned. "I am honored by this task," Ilene told Raven, kneeling before him. She turned to look at Doctorman. "Doctorman, I request a favor from you." She took out an envelope with her name on it, and handed it to him. "Should you meet my mother on your travels," she told him. "could you give this to her-to let her know that I am safe?" Doctorman nodded, and put the letter away in the bag he was given by Cachua Buch.

Doctorman's thoughts were elsewhere though. He was worried about Dawn, who was still sleeping aboard the airship. He hoped she would wake to see Ilene before they set out, so they could all say good-bye to each other for now, but even though it had been 3 hours, she still slept. "Doctorman!" Raven called, interrupting his thoughts. "The time has come for us to leave!" "Alright," he called back. He bowed to Ilene. "Thank you for guiding us this far," he said with respect. "And for saving me from that Lizardman." Ilene smiled. "It would not do to have a upstanding warrior like yourself fall to a corrupted lizard." Doctorman laughed. "That does sound like a rather pathetic end!" He ran to the airship gondola, and waved farewell to the town of Betham as it ascended.

The bridge was already setting the course for Altera by the time Doctorman got there. Raven saw him come in, and gestured for him to come closer. Doctorman walked over to him, and asked, "Why did you test us?" "I had to be sure that you two were truly determined to know why this catastrophe is happening," Raven explained. "I would tell you myself right now, but I on my own do not know wholly. That is why we are going to Altera-all of the Chosen will be there, ready to answer any questions you have." "Could you answer one question now, Raven?" Doctorman turned to see Dawn standing in the hall. She was visibly tired, but she had a determined look in her eyes.

"That depends on your question, Priestess," he responded in the same gruff manner that he seemed to reserve only for her. Dawn took a breath, then asked, "Why did Eve, the Nasod Queen, call me her spiritual daughter?" Raven sighed. "I do not know the answer to that question, regrettably. That you will have to ask her. In the meantime, you both need rest after the day you have had today," he looked at Dawn. "Especially you, Priestess." She nodded, then turned on her heel back towards her bedroom. Doctorman paused for a moment, and asked, "Do you have time for some sparring?" Raven looked at him, surprised. "I don't know how far away Altera is, and I don't want to let my blade dull." Raven grinned. "Your determination exceeds that of the Red Knight, I would say! Come this way, I'll take you to our training hall."

The training hall took up the majority of the space underneath the bridge. It contained weapons of every kind, and had several types of workout equipment for training the body as well as honing skills. Raven led Doctorman to an area with light coming from the floor. "This is our Virtual Realty trainer," he explained. "Created by Eve to allow for training using the weapons we are comfortable with and not harming each other." He pointed at Doctorman's sword. "It is especially useful to you, since we don't have any blade like that among our vast armory." Doctorman examined his sword. _Is my ancestor's sword really that unique? _Then he noticed something he had not noticed before. On the sword, there were inscriptions, written in an ancient language. He held his blade up to get a closer look. _Ye who wields the Lunar Sword, ye must prove your strength, or cursed ye shalt be whence Dark and Light clash. Of courage and of strength ye must be, lest the Lunar Sword darken your life._

Doctorman was curious-he examined it the night before, and it bore no such writing. Raven noticed Doctorman was hesitating. "Did you forget what your sword looks like?" he asked jokingly. Doctorman snapped out of it and stepped into the training area. "No, just making sure it is in good condition," he said. "I would rather not have it break while we fought." Raven walked to the opposite end of the Virtual Trainer, and drew his blade. "No need to worry, I'll go easy on you," he called with a smirk. The trainer started up, and soon the training hall disappeared. In its place was a vast plain, with wind blowing and the sun shining. Doctorman was stunned. _I have never seen this advanced Virtual Reality technology-how do they do this? _Then he remembered where he was, and readied his sword to face the charging Raven.

Raven swung his light blade with the greatest ease with only one hand, seemingly holding back his claw. Doctorman managed to avoid and deflect every strike, but he had no chance to retaliate. _He's so fast!_ He thought to himself. _How am I supposed to break through? _Raven pulled his sword back and lunged forward with his claw. Doctorman leaped over him, spinning his sword around him. Raven pulled up his arm barely in time to block it. Doctorman landed behind him, and decided to try a sword art he read about the night before. He focused his power into his sword, and shot it forward like a beam from his arm. His sword became enveloped in aura, taking the form of a sword over his own. It stabbed through Raven, who was busy trying to get his arm to cool down from blocking Doctorman's blade. The force of the transcension knocked Raven onto the ground.

Doctorman held his sword at his side. Raven stood up, and said, "I should have seen that coming, but I did not expect your sword to overheat my arm." "Cachua Buch told me my sword absorbed some of the 'fire of Bethma.'" he explained. "That would account for why my arm suddenly jumped in temperature." Raven shrugged, then he lashed out with a swift strike at Doctorman's legs. He jumped and swung his sword in an arc, smashing it down on the ground and the aura going through Raven. Doctorman brought his blade back up, knocking Raven into the air. _Time to try that finisher, _he told himself. When Raven was right in front of him, about to hit the ground, Doctorman struck him with a force that knocked him back onto his feet. Raven was dazed from the sudden force, and Doctorman took advantage of this.

He pointed his sword into the air, and spoke mystically. "Lend me your strength, Lunar Sword…" His sword glowed with a light Raven had never seen. _Where does this strength come from? _he thought. "Heavenly Strike!" Doctorman shouted, and then he brought the Lunar Sword, enveloped in mystical light, down on Raven. As the sword hit him, light from the moon in the sky came down and crashed on Raven.

The simulation ended, and Doctorman, unlike Raven, was exhausted from the training. "I did not even get a chance to make a comeback," Raven said, astounded. "I was not holding back…" Doctorman responded, tired. "But I don't know what will happen…if I used this for real." With that, Doctorman collapsed on the floor. Raven looked at him in astonishment. _How powerful is he? _he asked himself.


	10. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Dawn was restless. She had so many questions about what was happening, but the three days of travel it took to fly over the Bethma Mountains towards the floating island, Raven refused to answer each one. "Why did you do as my 'father' said?" "You will learn that soon," was always the reply she got. "Why?" she said frustrated, throwing a pillow across the room. Her drone flew to catch it, trying to keep it from flying out the window, as this happened before. Dawn kept thinking about what Raven was probably telling Doctorman what he was not telling her. Doctorman was training with Raven everyday. She did not dislike Doctorman, but she wanted to know what Raven was telling him. She never got a chance to ask, however, as Doctorman always went straight to his dormitory after each training session. He never answered the door when she knocked, and she was beginning to wonder if they were keeping secrets from her.

"Why is this happening-that is all I want to know!" she told her drones, who wished they had vocal programming to comfort her. All they could do was listen. Still frustrated, Dawn went out to the bridge to stargaze, hoping that would calm her. As she looked up at the stars, she wondered about all the different possibilities. She thought of the Lady of the El, and how she was being silent in this. She thought about Elder, and how its people-if any survived- were coming along. "I know you are worried," a voice she recognized to be Doctorman said. She refused to acknowledge him. "I understand what you are dealing with-" "Do you really?" she snapped. "How can you know? You have not lived in this world, you don't have the same worry for it that I do!"

Doctorman walked closer to her. "True, I do not live or belong here," he said calmly. "But I had the same worry for my world when I left it." "What do you mean?" she asked, her anger fading. "My world was in total chaos when I left," Doctorman told her. "Wars were rampant, evil and darkness was everywhere, and so few people did what was right…" he trailed off, looking up at the stars in the sky. "At the time, I had no idea how to wield a sword, nor that my ancestors were swordsmen," he continued. "I had an inclination to the diminishing art of the sword in my world, but nothing more. Then one day, something peculiar happened."

"What?" Dawn asked, more curious than ever about the strange swordsman who protected her several times. Doctorman closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "My world was truly assaulted by a evil, dark force, and my hometown was first on the list. They came without warning, and struck wherever they could. I tried to defend my town using a decorative sword, but I was swiftly knocked unconscious. When I came to, I was in a place I did not recognize." Doctorman drew his sword. "There was a man standing there, who told me of my family history as sword masters who fought to protect the world they lived in. He told me that the force that attacked my world had tried on numerous occasions before, but they were always stopped by my family line. He told me that, under normal circumstances, I would have learned the sword as soon as possible from my father, but because our world became more consumed by our own evil, the tradition passed out of memory."

Doctorman paused, and looked over his sword, which reflected the moon's light. "He taught me how to use a sword, how to care for one, and gave me the Lunar Sword to use. Then he said, 'I am sending you into a world that is falling into darkness, just like yours. Hone your skills there, and then when that world is safe, you will be ready to take back your world from the darkness.' The next moment, I was here, in Elrios." Doctorman sheathed his sword, and stretched out his arms. "That is why I constantly train and think. To grow strong enough to return to my world and rescue it. Each passing day, I worry about my friends and family, and how my world fares. But I trust that they are safe, under the protection of the man who told me the truth of my family, and told me my destiny."

Dawn was silent. She had no idea that this warrior had had his world taken from him. But she still had one last question…"Is your name really Doctorman?" she asked. He turned to look at her. He hesitated for a bit, then said, "No, it is not. It is just a title, which I gave myself as I wandered this world. Please forgive me, but I cannot tell you my name. It reminds me too much of home…" Tears began to form in his eyes. "It reminds me too much of…" he began to cry, and Dawn was taken aback. She did not expect him to break down in tears remembering. She was about to place her hand on his shoulder, when he suddenly stood up, drew his sword, and slashed behind him. Something shrieked, but Dawn saw nothing. "And now…they follow into this world?" he asked with disbelief.

Then Dawn saw dark beings, similar to the one she sent away in Bethma, but smaller, appear out of the dark night. Doctorman took a defensive stance in front of her, knocking back the creatures with each swing of his sword. One managed to sneak past him, and lunged onto Dawn. Dawn tried to throw it off, but it clung all the tighter to her, clawing at her relentlessly. Doctorman stabbed the creature on her, and it disappeared into nothingness. Seeing Dawn injured, he picked her up, and ran to the ship interior. "I saw some of my friends fall to these creatures," he declared loudly. "I will not let them take your life, as well!"

Doctorman took her straight to the infirmary, where medical Nasods were just powering up for the day. Doctorman placed Dawn on a bed. "Help her," he told them quickly, and then he turned around and ran back to the deck. "Bring it on, creatures of darkness,"he said quietly. "This time, I'm ready for you!" As he charged out onto the deck, many of the crew began to wake up due to the chaos that resounded outside. Raven opened his door just in time to see Doctorman run past his room. "What is going on?" he asked, but Doctorman ignored him and kept running. When he got outside, what he saw shocked him. A large dark beast stood on the deck, with glowing yellow eyes. _"__**I finally found you,"**___the creature said evilly. _**"You have eluded me for longer than I originally thought, Knight."**_

"What are you doing here?" Doctorman demanded, his sword drawn and at the ready. "I thought you things only wanted my world-why are you invading this one too?" _**"Is it not obvious?" **_the creature chuckled. _**"We want to cover the universe in total darkness. We originally wanted to focus our power on your world, but as there is no protector, we are taking a much slower road. This world is next on our list, though we never guessed the Knights left to come here." **_Doctorman stood firm, waiting for the thing to make a move. _**"You Knights have always caused us trouble," **_the creature continued, its voice dripping malice. _**"But now their last scion is so weak, he fled to another world! I will take great pleasure in destroying you and the Knights once and for all!" **_

"Why not come down to my size and face me in a duel, then?" Doctorman challenged. "Since I am obviously so weak?" _**"Crushing you underneath my foot is more fun for me-besides, why would I take you up on something you specialize in as a Knight?" **_With that, the gigantic creature lifted its enormous foot and brought it forward to stomp on Doctorman. Doctorman leaped at the bottom of the foot and slashed at it. It was cut in two, all the way up to the creature's knee. _** "It would seem you have been training," **_the creature commented, clearly without pain. _**"I guess there is no reason to hold back!" **_With that, the creature began to form itself into a dark sphere, seeming to implode on itself. Doctorman landed back on the deck, and looked up at the thing.

Suddenly, he was thrown forward. The airship had landed on Altera, unsmoothly as the autopilot was trying to manage the sudden weight increase from the creature. The sphere floated away from the airship, towards a spiraling tower on the horizon. "Oh, no you don't!" Doctorman shouted, dashing towards the edge of the airship. He jumped off just as Raven and Dawn got out to help. "Doctorman!" they cried in unison, but he was already out of the range of their voices. The dark sphere churned and began to settle on the ground in front of Doctorman. It eventually began to form a human shape. Doctorman tensed up. _I have a bad feeling about this, _he thought.

The darkness finally stopped writhing, and it took on color. To Doctorman's surprise, it looked identical to-"Let me prove to you once and for all that I, Darkside, am the strongest force there is!" Doctorman was shocked. "You…you were Darkside?" Darkside roared with evil laughter. "I can't believe it took you this long to figure this out! I never knew you Knights were this dense!" Darkside formed a sword out of darkness, one unrecognized by Doctorman. "This is the Pitch Dark Blade," Darkside howled. "The ultimate blade of Darkness! With it, I will end you and take this world, as well as all others, and plunge it into everlasting Darkness!"

Doctorman looked at the broad, dark, evil blade. He looked at the Lunar Sword in his hand. He closed his eyes. _I've made my decision, _he told himself. "As long as I can, I will not rest until I have made this world safe from you and your evil powers!" Darkside sighed. "I was hoping you would not try to fight-after all, your fate is sealed! I have places to be, things to do-I don't have much time to spare on a worm like you. But if you insist on resisting the inevitable…" Darkside glared at Doctorman. "I will make you suffer beyond belif!" The two warriors charged at each other, blades poised to strike. Darkside raised his arms to strike-and had his sword knocked away.

Doctorman stopped. In front of Darkside, there now stood a warrior clothed almost wholly in red. His hair was grey at the tips, but it held dull red color. His sword was designed as though it was a ceremonial sword, but was razor sharp. Darkside looked in disbelief at the arriving warrior. "How dare you interfere with me, Chosen." Darkside growled menacingly. The warrior smirked. "It's my job to interfere with the plans of Darkness," he replied smugly. "Besides, I heard you were looking for me. I thought I'd make it easy on you."

Darkside looked past him at Doctorman. "I don't have time for the both of you…I'll let you go for now, but soon you will cease to exist!" With that, Darkside reverted to the dark orb, along with his sword, and disappeared into itself, leaving no trace of it. The warrior held his blade at his side, and turned to look over Doctorman. "We have been expecting your arrival," he told him. "I am Elsword, the Red Knight and 'Head' of the Chosen. Come, I'll take you to the meeting place."


	11. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

When Raven and Dawn caught up with the two swordsmen, they had already reached the tower in the center of the island. Elsword smiled at Raven. "How long has it been since we last saw each other, Raven?" Raven shrugged. "About as long as you took to travel the world." Elsword laughed. "Come on, I saw you flying over Velder-or was that not your ship?" Doctorman paid no attention to Raven. He was only concerned with Dawn and her injuries. "I'm fine," she insisted. "the thing did not scratch me up that bad." "I'm still worried…I don't know if it was poisoned in any way." "If I feel bad at all, I'll let you know, alright?" she told him tiredly. Doctorman nodded. "Welcome, my fellow Chosen," a voice said soothingly. Everyone turned around to see a woman gliding on the air towards them. She had the outfit and the air of a queen, and had a robotic servant behind her, and a bodyguard in front of her.

"Eve!" Elsword cried. "You look well!" Eve smiled. "I am glad to see you are unchanged, Elsword. Raven, I see you have been in good health as well, though I can't say so about your arm." He flexed his Nasod claw. "It has been taking a beating as of late, training with Doctorman." "Ah, yes," the Nasod Queen mused. "The Doctorman, Knight of Dimensions. The one we hoped was coming soon." From behind her, another person stepped out. One was clearly a king of some sort, wearing grand white and blue armor and carrying a cannon slung over his shoulder. "So this is the guy-the one with the power to help us?" Suddenly, a magician appeared from nowhere. Her hair was a deep purple and she held an air of discernment around her. "He certainly has the essence of Light around him, that's for sure." The man with the cannon jumped back. "How many times do I have to tell you not to do that, Aisha?" he asked, startled. Aisha giggled and wagged her finger at him. "And how many times do I have to remind you that as long as we are married you have to put up with it, Chung!" Chung sighed, as if he was used to this kind of response.

"You guys have been together for how long, and you still argue about that?" a melodic voice said. Then a woman Doctorman assumed was Ilene's mother jumped down from a nearby treetop. "I mean, _my _husband might always be wandering, but at least we agree that some things just won't change-like the fact that I'll always follow him around from a distance." Elsword coughed, and asked, "Where's Ara? I thought for sure she would get here before me." Eve nodded. "She did, but she left early, as she received word that Sander was under attack." Elsword frowned. "I'm not sure that was a good idea…after all, they probably went there to try and take her out or capture her."

"Not like they will succeed," Chung commented. "She fights faster than you and Raven put together!" Elsword shrugged. "Maybe, but still, it would have helped to have her knowledge to help us explain things." Doctorman was standing around, soaking this all in, when Dawn nudged him. "Do you realize how lucky we are to meet all the Chosen at once?" she whispered excitedly. Doctorman shook his head and looked at the Chosen. They seemed like a group of old friends, not heroes of the world. "I figured they would be…I don't know, more concerned with the situation at hand," he whispered back.

Then Doctorman noticed Eve was looking at him. "I see you kept my 'daughter' safe?" she said, a little bit of pride in her voice. "A creature of darkness did scratch her, but she seems fine. You did well, Knight." Doctorman kneeled in respect. "I apologize for not completely defending her." All of the Chosen looked at him in amazement. Raven looked at all of them. "What did I tell you? This guy is filled with a greater power and spirit than any of us!" he declared, as if it was some kind of bet amongst them. Doctorman became embarrassed by this comment, and tried to hide it. "And modest too, it seems," Eve commented. "Come, let's continue this conversation inside the Core, where I might be able to serve everyone in a formal manner."

With that, she turned around to go back into the tower. "Um, exactly what is this Core?" Doctorman asked, standing up. "The Core of Altera Island, of course!" Elsword called back. Doctorman and Dawn looked at each other warily. "I don't know what to expect," Doctorman admitted. "You?" Dawn smiled. "No, let's go find out!" With that, she dashed off ahead of Doctorman. "Hey, wait up!" He chased after her. _I forgot about her energy, _Doctorman reminded himself. _She can take off in the blink of an eye! _

Doctorman noticed the path led down instead of up when they got inside the tower. Dawn was already far ahead of him on the path, even ahead of the Chosen. Doctorman sighed and gave up on trying to chase her. Instead, he walked with the Chosen and learned who they are and what they do now. Elsword, the Red Knight, still travels and hones his swordsmanship. He was the first to notice the growing Darkness and even fought Darkside in the beginning. He loves being able to travel throughout the world, taking in the sights and helping anyone in need.

His wife, Rena, is an elf who maintains the peace of the world by following behind her husband. She sees what he fixes and then comes at a later time to make sure it has remained fixed. Despite having a grand forest home, she does not stay there often, as does Elsword. They are almost always traveling the wide expanse of the world, and actually were traveling in the kingdom of Hamel when Darkness struck. When Doctorman told her the Dark Elves had betrayed them, Rena just shrugged. "I knew it was only a matter of time before it happened," she explained. "But I'm happy I was able to create some peace."

Aisha, Queen of Hamel, did not live on the road like Elsword and Rena. Rather, she stayed at the castle where she lived and practiced her magic and diplomacy. She never tired of using her magic, often using it to play games with her husband and the servants. They had all grown used to this, and were never unhappy when she was around. She had a spirit like a child around her, yet Doctorman knew without her demonstrating that she had great strength.

Doctorman already knew about what Raven did now, but what he did not know was that, unlike the rest of the Chosen, he had made the decision to remain unmarried, in honor of his fiancé who died to help free him many years ago from false imprisonment. He did not want to talk about it any farther than that, so Doctorman did not ask any further. He of all people knew what it was like to have a horrible event happen that he did not like to speak of.

Eve, the Nasod Queen, stayed in the Altera Core almost the entire time since the defeat of Darkness 30 years ago. She was devoted to reviving her race to the power it once held, and ensuring that there would be peace forever. She commanded that all high power weapon-type Nasods be decommissioned and shut down. They all obliged, save one that Eve personally took care of. She promised Doctorman that he had nothing to worry about. "The Nasods now are all civilians or guardians. They won't do you any harm as long as you don't do us any harm."

Chung, the King and Protector of Hamel, never left his kingdom after returning to it to rescue it from the evil of the demons who had taken control of his father. He now spends much of his time training his son in the ways of battle, but teaching him the importance of peace, as well as to always do right. "The Prince is a little mischievous. I suspect he got that from his mother," he told Doctorman, looking slyly at Aisha. She giggled. "It is not my fault that he likes to make a little trouble. After all, I'm sure you did some non-Princly things when you were his age!"

Doctorman decided not to probe any longer. By this time, they had reached the main chamber of the Core-and what a sight it was! Nasods of many shapes and sizes wandered around the ample area, as well as small white, furry creatures. Doctorman saw Dawn just standing in the doorway. He caught up to her and asked if she was alright. "Do you see those little guys?" she said, pointing at the furry creature. "They have to be the cutest things I have ever seen!" "CUTE!?" one of them shouted at her. It was wearing a mining hat, and carried a pickaxe with it. "Why, if I were 30 years younger, I'd show you how fearsome we Ponggos are! Do you have any idea-" "Fearsome?" Dawn asked. "I could never be afraid of something as cute as you!" The Ponggo's face turned an angry shade of red and was about to shout again when another called, "Agatha! That is no way to treat someone who just got here!"

All the color drained from Agatha's face, and she slowly turned to look at the one that called to her. "I apologize, Elder," she said plainly. An old looking Ponggo in a wheelchair being pushed by a Nasod assistant came up. "Why do you always act this way to newcomers, Agatha? Shouldn't you know better by now?" Agatha just stood there in silence for a moment, then walked off to what appeared to be mines. "Agatha still is unused to visitors, Adel?" Eve asked the old Ponggo. "So it would appear. It is saddening." Adel turned to the Doctorman and Dawn. "So these are the ones?" Elsword nodded. "They seem so…young," the old Ponggo mused. "Are you sure these are them? I thought the prophecy-" "Hush, elder, you'll spoil the surprise!" Aisha interrupted. The Swordsman and the Priestess looked at each other curiously. "No one said anything about a prophecy," Doctorman commented.

"Come, I will show you to your chambers," Eve instructed them, oblivious to Doctorman's words. With that, the Nasod Queen set off towards the East section of the Core, with Doctorman and Dawn following close behind, so as they did not get lost in the crowd. No one was aware of the glowing red eyes glowering down at Dawn and Eve from the ceiling. "DESTROY ALL RESPONSIBLE FOR DEACTIVATION PROCESS-ORDER #49003-JADE."


	12. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Dawn looked around in awe. She had never seen this kind of technology before. "How do you power all of this machinery?" she asked Eve. "We have created an eternal energy creation device," Eve explained. "the sole purpose of it being to power all of the machines in the Core." "You don't have any problems with it?" Doctorman asked, gazing around at the many different Nasods roaming the halls. "Not at all, not since the deactivation of the weaponized Nasods." "They did not get shut down immediately?" Doctorman asked, a hint of concern in his voice. Eve shook her head, still walking down the hall as if they were not having a conversation.

"They were part of my race as well-I did not want to order the end of some of my race. But I had no choice. They yearned for war-especially the one I had to shut down myself." "Who was that?" Dawn asked, curious about the Nasod race and wanting to know some of its history. "Q-PROTO-00. A Nasod made many years ago to test powerful weaponry. She was unfeeling, relentless, and cruel. No one could stop her, nor keep her under control for long. She was the first to rebel against me when I returned from fighting the Darkness 30 years ago." Eve stopped abruptly, causing Doctorman and Dawn to bump into each other, as they walked in a line.

Eve gestured to a room on the left. "This is your room, Dawn," she told her, then she gestured to the room on the right side of the hall. "And that is yours, Doctorman. When you both have grown accustomed to these places, come to the throne room, which is just down this hallway." With that, she teleported away, leaving Doctorman and Dawn bewildered and alone in the hall. "I'm not sure she enjoyed talking about that Nasod." Doctorman observed. "I guess not…" Dawn replied glumly. "I really wanted to know the history of the Nasods, too." "Maybe you can ask her again another time. She did say she was your spiritual mother-I doubt this will be the last time you see her." Dawn shrugged. "I'm going to see the room 'mother' has given me. I'll probably be a while, so just go on to the meeting hall without me."

"Alright," Doctorman said reluctantly. He did not feel good about leaving her alone. He felt something was off with the Core…like there was still some danger, despite what Eve told them. _Maybe I'm just imagining things, _he told himself as he went into his room. _After all, what could want to attack us here?_ "Greetings, Mr. Knight. I have awaited your arrival," a robotic voice echoed throughout the room. "Who's there? Show yourself!" Doctorman demanded, his hand on his blade. _Maybe I spoke too soon._ Then he saw a Nasod dressed in a butler's outfit. "I am a Nasod Guardian Model 3-450. I am called Siero by my Majesty, Mistress Eve. How can I be of service?" Doctorman was a little unnerved by this.

_I've never had a butler, _he thought. _I've always taken care of everything myself or with the help of someone else. I have never had someone do the minor tasks for me…_ "Right now, you can just relax. I'll take care of my things myself," he told Siero. "As you wish, Sir Knight," he replied, bowing and went back to the room it came from. Doctorman walked through the room-he assumed it to be a foyer, as it clearly was more than just one room-and looked around. He saw that a kitchen where Siero went, a small dojo area, and a bedroom at the end of the hall. _Why do I need this much? I don't think I'll be staying that long…_

Doctorman entered his room to see an odd outfit lying on the bed, with a note beside it. Doctorman picked up the note and read it. "Wear this outfit when you come to the meeting hall. It is designed to make you look more like you are a resident of this world." Doctorman looked at his outfit. _Well, I suppose I do look rather out of place here…_ he told himself. He continued reading. "When you are settled in and made yourself presentable, come to the meeting hall promptly. There is much to discuss, and we don't know how much time will be available." Doctorman looked over the outfit on the bed again and smiled. "I expected something more formal, but this looks just like I'd picture myself wearing here," he said aloud.

Ten minutes later, Doctorman was dressed in the clothes he was given and was clean from the Dark splotches he assumed were the creature's 'blood'. Taking his sword, he went to the dojo for a short time to see how flexible he was in this outfit, should he need to fight. Drawing his sword and stepping inside, the dojo transformed into a burning city, with some pig-faced demons standing around with spears. Doctorman charged forward and leaped at one, cutting it down the middle, then he turned sharply to the left to get another and plunged his sword behind him into the last one. "This clothing seems designed for battle, it is so well crafted!" Doctorman said with awe. Sheathing his blade, he left his chamber for the meeting hall. As he left, he saw Dawn leaving her own chamber-and what a sight she was!

She was wearing a black and pink outfit that looked sleek and armored. She wore a headband so that her hair did not get in her eyes and she had bracelets on her arms made of silver. She had on white shoes that looked like they were dancing shoes from Doctorman's world. Dawn smiled shyly. "I've never had an outfit like this," she said. "My father just gave me things he found from the market, not caring if it matched or not." "You look great," Doctorman told her. "You look like you could pass as the Nasod Princess!" Dawn blushed. "I kind of am, since Eve claims I am her spiritual daughter." Doctorman nodded, then gestured down the hall. "Shall we head for the meeting? I doubt it would look good on us if we are late." "I suppose so," Dawn replied, and the two of them walked together towards the meeting hall.

When they walked in, only Rena was there. "I guess I'm not the only one who likes to be early," Rena commented, standing up. "You two look very nice." Dawn blushed while Doctorman cleared his throat. "Your daughter gave me this letter to give to you," he told her, taking out the note from his pocket. Rena walked over to him and took the note. "Thank you, I've been wondering how Ilene has been doing," she said. Then the rest of the Chosen began to come in. Elsword was next to enter with Raven. Aisha was next, with Chung running to keep up with her teleporting. Lastly, Eve came in with two large Nasod Guardians.

"It would appear everyone is here," Eve declared, looking around. "May the Council of the Chosen commence." Everyone took a seat at a round table that had its center cut out to have an El crystal float gently to shine its light on the attendees. "First thing's first, Doctorman and Dawn deserve an explanation for what is happening to this world," Eve started. Elsword cleared his throat and began speaking.

"I first observed the Darkness returning 6 months ago. I was traveling through the forests north of Hamel with my wife. We were wondering if there was any El hidden there. As we reached the center of the forest, Rena noticed something and jumped into the trees to investigate. Almost as soon as she was out of view, I was assaulted by a swordsman-Darius, who I trained a year ago from this time. However, he looked and fought differently than when I finished training him. He wielded two swords, creating one out of thin air as though he had the Conwell in his possession. His eyes were a dark color, making it impossible to determine what color it truly was. He attacked with great fury, anger and wrath seemingly fueling his swords. I only barely managed to recover from the surprise attack in time to counter him. I defeated him swiftly, and was about to ask for an explanation when he said, 'I will not allow you to live…One day, I will slay you, _Chosen._' With that he disappeared into a dark portal.

Then I looked up and saw the sky darkening, a storm brewing. When Rena returned, she told me-" "A storm of evil is coming, as well as a warrior…a warrior of Light." Rena recounted. "We must hurry and tell the others, I told my husband, and we hurried back to Hamel to spread the news to Chung and Aisha. Aisha created a portal across Elrios to take us to Eve, Raven, and Ara. After we informed them of the events, we each went to a high-traffic area in order to wait for the warrior Rena said was coming."

"But what does this have to do with me?" Dawn asked. "I understand you were waiting for Doctorman, but where do I fit into this, and why is the Darkness after me?" Everyone looked at Eve, who sighed. "You are the Priestess of Light-you have been from birth. It is only natural for Darkness to target you." "How do you know that?" Dawn persisted. "Because I was there when you were born," Eve said. "You wanted to know why I called you my spiritual daughter. It is because when you were born, you were ill-deathly ill. Because of this, your father threw you away. Your true mother died in giving birth, and I was present only because I was currently in search of the weaponized Nasods who had refused to comply with my order. I saw you, yellow with sickness, and could not bear to see you die. So I did something that very few Nasods can do. I held you close and amplified the energy of the El crystal inside of me, such that it could restore you. I wanted to take you back to my kingdom and raise you as my princess, but your father came back, and seeing you healed, he took you from me. The only thing he could not change was the name I already gave you, which was put on your certificate of birth-Dawn. I have kept watch over you ever since, until the arrival of Doctorman, at which time I knew you would be safe from the coming Darkness."

Dawn was silent. _All this time, she was there for me? _Doctorman cleared his throat. "How did you know I was coming, Rena?" he asked. "I highly doubt you just knew." Rena shook her head. "I saw hidden deep within the clouds a small light, refusing to be swallowed by the Dark clouds around it. I knew you were in that light, or was represented by it." With that, the council became silent for a short time. Raven glanced around, then said, "If there are no more questions, then we need to focus on the matter at hand." "AFFIRMATIVE," a menacing voice echoed."COMMENCING DESTRUCTION CHOSEN WARRIORS AND CAPTURE OF PRIESTESS OF LIGHT, CODENAMED, 'DAWN'. "

Suddenly, a Nasod appeared on top of the El crystal in the middle of the room, along with the Dark Queen Speka. "Q-Proto-00…" Eve whispered. "Correction!" Speka shouted, wagging her finger. "This is Q-Omega-01, the fruit of my labor and why Darkside and I came to Altera in the first place! She has been re-outfitted and enhanced by the greatest Dark powers Darkside and I could muster. She won't stop until each and every one of you is destroyed! Have fun!" Then she disappeared, and Q-Omega-01 declared, "UNLESS YOU WISH YOUR KINGDOM TERMINATED IMMEDIATELY, YOU WILL COME TO THE HEART OF THE CORE IN T-MINUS 1 HOUR." Then she too vanished. _And here I thought we would have a peaceful meeting,_ Doctorman thought to himself, drawing his sword.


	13. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

"Oberon! Ohpelia!" Eve called out, standing up. The two servant Nasods appeared in a flash. "You called, Highness?" they said bowing simultaneously. "Ophelia, evacuate all the Nasods and Ponggos from the Core," Eve commanded swiftly. "Oberon, go straight to the heart of the Core and stall Q for some time. Try to analyze the code she is utilizing." "As you wish," the Nasods replied, then vanished just as suddenly as they arrived. "I'll go make sure that the corridors are free from any other Dark forces," Elsword said, cracking his knuckles. "I'll accompany you," Raven offered, flexing his claw. "Me and Aisha will assist in the evacuation," Rena declared, with Aisha nodding her approval. "I'll make the fleet of Hamel prepare for a mass journey home in case of emergency," Chung said, rushing off. "Dawn, you come with me," Eve beckoned. "There is something I wish to show you." "And I suppose that leaves the disposal of the maniacal Nasod to me?" Doctorman said, shouldering his sword. Eve nodded. "You are capable of the task," Eve told him plainly.

Rena and Aisha reached the housing section for the Ponggos and the Nasods and began shouting, "Hurry, you need to evacuate!" Every Ponggo looked out of their windows at the sound of their voices, and asked, "What is the emergency?" "Q-Proto-00 has reactivated! Get out quickly, before she detonates the Core!" At the word, 'detonate', all the Ponggos quickly ran back into their homes, gathered up their precious things, and began to run. Demons started falling down from the ceiling. Rena saw them coming, and began to shoot them out of the air, using only one magic arrow on each. When they started to hit the ground, Aisha threw them back into the air with her magic. "We can't afford to let any of them get to the Ponggos!" Rena shouted.

Young Ponggos ran with small dolls and accessories, older ones took chests that were locked and sealed tight. Agatha took her pickaxe and was running to assist Adel in escaping. "Hurry, Elder! The demons are attacking!" she said, panic in her voice. "I understand, Agatha. I'm just getting the treasure of our race," the old Ponggo said, with far more peace in his voice than any of the rest of his race. In his hands, he held a small cube, seemingly inoperable. "Why have I not seen that before?" Agatha asked, her curiosity making her forget the situation. "There will be a time for it…but it is not now," Adel replied. "We were leaving the Core?" he reminded her. "R-right!" Agatha said, picking up the older Ponggo and rushing out of the house, barely making it out before a demon fell through the roof.

Elsword was having a blast. "I have not felt this pumped since the incident 30 years ago!" He shouted to Raven, cutting down three demons with one slash. "Remember when we used to compete to see who could get more of them?" "Indeed, that was good fun. But this is far worse than before," Raven replied grimly, firing several rounds from his claw into a large group of demons. "We have to ensure that the demons are cleared out before those evacuating get here." "Ah come on, pal," Elsword encouraged, transcending sword using Armageddon Blade. "Have some fun for once! It's not every day we get a full blown demon invasion!" "Maybe if you settled down somewhere permanently, you would realize we do," Raven chided, launching an Ignition Crow through the demons. "More than once a day, we get an invasion."

"Yeah, I've heard of that. But they don't put in as much effort as these guys do," Elsword called back before performing a Rolling Smash over the demons and onto a commander's head. _He really won't ever change, _Raven thought, amused, while using his Bursting Blade on a towering demon summoner. Suddenly, rockets and Disfrozens rained down on the battlefield, blowing demons into the air. Chung dropped down, slamming his cannon on the ground to knock demons into the abyss that led to the ocean far beneath them. "The fleet is ready! I'm here to help!" he shouted, swinging his cannon back fire into the demonic crowd. "We should do this more often!" Elsword shouted out, before screaming a battle cry and charging into the demons full force.

Doctorman charged down the stairs leading to the heart of the Core. _I have the most difficult task, _he reminded himself. _Defeat the war Nasod Q-Omega-01 without damaging the eternal energy system. A war Nasod equipped with several Dark powers, forbidden Nasod technology, and with no regard for the environment or anything of Light, such as me. I've never fought a Nasod before, and if I fail, the work of the rest will all be for naught. _Doctorman smiled. _All in a day's work for a Warrior of Light. Only thing missing is-_ "Stop right there!" someone shouted at him. Doctorman stopped and turned to see Corraine standing there. "I won't let you go any further. The Core will fall, and you will not interfere with the plans of Master Darkside," she growled menacingly, arming a shadowy arrow in her bladed bow. _Someone who has a grudge against me to try and stop me from saving the Core. _Doctorman finished his thought and reading his sword. _Yep, this is just perfect. _

"Exactly where are we going, Eve?" Dawn asked, following the Nasod Queen down a darkened hallway. "You will see soon," she replied without emotion. _That does not help me calm down, _Dawn thought to herself. "Shouldn't I be helping Doctorman?" she asked, hoping Eve would let her go find him. "You will, but in your current state, you would be more a burden than a help," Eve replied. "In here, you will gain the power you need to help Doctorman." "What do you mean?" Dawn asked, curious to know what her 'mother' had for her. Eve did not respond. They had reached the end of the hallway and Eve reached her hand out towards the dead end wall. "Electa Code class 21442-B, reveal your containment unit," She commanded.

Suddenly, the wall began to open up. Ancient gears were heard groaning, and a doorway slowly appeared. Inside was a small bed in a capsule, with several wires hooked up to it. "This is the unit that has the potential to awaken the Code Electra, one of the great ancient codes," Eve said solemnly. "Many years ago, I was tempted to use it, but in doing so, I would have lost my emotions that I had gained traveling with Elsword and the rest. That was something I could not bear to do, and thus I sealed it here. But you," she said, turning towards Dawn. "You are not a Nasod, and yet you still have control over Nasods like I had. And because you are human, you cannot lose your emotions. This code…" she gestured to the machine. "…this code was modified and perfected by me in my spare time once I learned of your ability to command Nasods. This code is meant for you, my princess."

"How do I use it?" Dawn asked, shaking with anticipation. "Just lie down in it, and it will do the rest," Eve assured her. Dawn looked at the machine, then to her drones, which were floating towards their individual sockets in the machine. _The power to help Doctorman and the Chosen… _Dawn thought. _I will do this…for the good of Elrios. _She walked to the machine and lay down in it. "Close your eyes, Dawn," Eve told her. "Or you will be blinded by the light." Dawn did so, and the machine stirred. "INITIATING ELECTRA CODE EMPOWERMENT. ARE YOU READY, DAWN, PRIESTESS OF LIGHT AND PRINCESS OF THE NASODS?" the machine asked. "Yes, I am ready to receive this gift," she replied with confidence. "UNDERSTOOD. COMMENCING EMPOWERMENT PROCEDURE."


	14. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Doctorman was having trouble with Corraine. She fought with a swiftness Doctorman had not seen from anyone else. "I'll cut you to pieces!" she shouted, pulling out a knife from a small sheath behind her, and slashed it towards Doctorman's stomach. Doctorman only barely managed to hop backwards in time to avoid it. _She moves so quickly, _he thought frantically. _I can't escape from her, but I really want to avoid harming her, as she might snap out of whatever trance she is clearly in. _Doctorman stared into Corraine's eyes. In them he only saw anger and Darkness. _As I thought, she is under a spell of some kind, no doubt by Speka. _Doctorman attempted to speak to her, but quickly had to jump away again, this time from a Dark arrow. "You won't escape me," she declared furiously. "The Core will be destroyed, and all our problems will be dealt with at once!"

"Corraine, listen to me!" Doctorman shouted back. "You are under a spell of Speka's. She is using you, knowing you'll be a threat. Q-Omega can escape as the Core detonates, but you won't be able to-you will be destroyed like the rest of us!" Corraine stopped, and for a moment, she looked like she did before Elder was attacked. Then, shaking her head as if to clear her thoughts, she fell to her knees and let out an inhuman roar. "NO!" she shouted demonically. "THIS VESSAL BELONGS TO ME!" Corraine was struggling, her hands on her head, her bow on the ground. "Get out of me, demon!" she shouted in her voice. "I swore I would work to change the view of the Dark Elves, not copy their ancient evil ways!"

With that, Corraine shrieked, and it echoed throughout the Core. Far in the distance, Speka was watching the battles with her magic, and she heard the cry. "Hmph," she said, shrugging. "She served her purpose. It doesn't matter what happens to her now." She snapped her fingers, and a dark spirit flew out of Corraine and all the way back to her. "WHY DID YOU DO THIS!?" the spirit asked angrily. "I COULD HAVE FORCED HER TO OBEY ME!" "Tut, tut, Balrog," Speka said, wagging her finger at the Dark spirit. "You and I both knew she was weak, leaning more towards Light. You need a stronger vessel, and I think I know just where that is."

Corraine was crumpled on the ground. Doctorman stared down at her still form. _Whatever was possessing her seems to have vanished, _he noted. She stirred and looked up at him. "Doctorman?" she asked weakly. "W-where am I?" "You are in the Altera Core," he told her, helping her up. "You have been possessed by an evil spirit and fought against the Light. Just now you were trying to kill me." She gasped, and put her hands over her face. "No…" she said quietly. "I have to go and make right for what I have done." With that, she picked up her bow and asked, "How can I be of help?" Doctorman motioned to the heart of the Core. "Q-Proto has been enhanced and reprogrammed using Darkness. She aims to detonate the Core's self-sustaining system, destroying Altera in the process." Corraine nodded. "Understood. I'll go ahead of you to deal with her." With that, she dashed down the spiral hallway.

"Go now!" Chung shouted to the Ponggos and Nasods outside of the Core. "Get to the fleet, while it is clear!" He saw Aisha and Rena running out of the Core, and breathed a sigh of relief. "Is that everyone?" Elsword called out to Rena, holding back a demon commander with a look of ease. "It is, save Eve, Doctorman and Dawn!" she replied, firing an arrow into the chest of a wyvern high above the battlefield. "Where are they?" Raven shouted angrily, punching a panzer in the facemask, shattering it. "If we don't get out of here soon, the Ponnggos and Nasods might get injured!" "Then let's go!" Aisha said. "Eve will find a way out like she always does! And remember, Q is still threatening the Core system!" Chung paused for a moment. _What if she doesn't make it? What will happen then? _"Come on, Chung, snap out of it!" Elsword yelled at him. "We don't have any other option! Besides, she would rather let her friends and race survive than her!" With that, Elsword ran to the fleet, protecting the evacuates while he ran. Chung looked back at the Core for a split second, then followed. _They all need to make it out of there, _he thought grimly. _Otherwise the battle will be lost in the end!_

Doctorman caught up with Corraine just in time to save her from falling out the bottom of the floating island. "YOU THOUGHT YOU COULD MATCH WITH ME, DARK ELF?" Q-Omega-01 scoffed. "YOU CLEARLY ARE LESS INTELLIGENT THAN MY DATA SUGGESTS." "Are you alright?" Doctorman asked her, pulling her onto the platform. "I don't have any more strength to fight, and I don't believe I even made her weary," she responded. "Watch yourself." "Get out of here while you can," Doctorman told her. "I'll stop her on my own." Getting up, Doctorman walked towards Q-Omega. "So you are what Darkside and Speka came searching for," Doctorman said, spinning his sword in his hand. "Tell me, have you known anything but fighting?" "BATTLE IS ALL I WAS CREATED FOR," Q replied, seemingly amused. "NO TIMES OF PEACE ARE RECORDED IN MY MEMORY. WAR AND DARKNESS…DARKNESS THAT WILL REIGN FOREVER!"

_I wish I could convince her there is more to life than war, but clearly she has been reprogrammed to live solely for it, and any memories of before of peace, if they existed are gone, _Doctorman reasoned. _Nevertheless, I need to try… _"How can you truly know Darkness and war without first knowing peace?" he demanded. Q suddenly halted all movement. "PASS PHRASE ACCEPTED," Q said in a static robotic voice. "COMMENCE AUDIO PLAYBACK." _What? _Doctorman thought, then Q-Omega began to stream light out of the jewel set in her forehead. The light took the form of a young woman, who had a similar figure as Eve. The holographic woman dusted off her outfit and said, "Eve, if you are receiving this message, than you have come to understand why the war Nasods should never have been shut down. Without them, you will never truly understand peace. Of course, that by no means excuses war, but rather shows that even the worst things have meaning and purpose. You are our Queen, Eve, and I am happy you understand this now. If, however, Q is acting far worse than before, and threatens the existence of the kingdom, then know that the only way to truly stop her is…"

Suddenly, the message fizzled out and Q-Omega shook her head, as though she was dazed. "ERROR IN ENCRYPTION," she said, her voice returning to the way it was before the message. "AUDIO FILE INCOMPLETE. ERROR." Doctorman thought she might short out or something similar, but a Dark shadow came from the ground and enveloped her for a brief moment. After it had left, Q-Omega's eyes were glowering menacingly. "PAST DATA IS OF NO USE TO YOU," she growled. "ACTIVATE BATTLE CODE 'WAR DEVIL.'" _She knocked Corraine aside without using a battle code? _Doctorman thought, worried. _I can't afford to make any mistakes then. _

"You won't get a chance to use it!" Doctorman declared, and he lunged at her with his sword set to cut her in half. Q did not move as Doctorman drew nearer. Then, at the last moment before he hit, she dashed backwards, leaving an electronic afterimage in her wake. Doctorman could not act quickly enough to avoid it, and felt a painful shock go through his whole body. Instantly, Q was upon him, smacking him with a pair of drones that felt like arrows lodging themselves in Doctorman and then being pulled out painfully. "IS THIS REALLY THE BEST THE WARRIOR OF LIGHT CAN DO?" Q spat at him, not letting up in her onslaught. "YOU ARE CLEARLY NOT AS THREATENING AS MY MASTER INFORED ME." She enlarged one of her drones and hit him with the blunt side of it with enough force to knock him into the wall on the other side of the room. Doctorman let out a small cry of pain on impact, then fell to the ground, his sword landing point down in front of Q, left behind from the hit.

Q-Omega sighed. "AND I THOUGHT YOU WOULD POSE A CHALLENGE." She stretched out her hands towards him, and an electronic triangle appeared. "I SUPPOSE I CAN SHOW YOU A SMALL SAMPLE OF MY FULL POWER," she said, as Dark energy began to form a growing orb in her hands. _No, _Doctorman told himself. _It won't end here. _He slowly stood up, determination written all across his face. "SO YOU CHOOSE TO STAND STILL, EVEN IN THE FACE OF YOUR DESTRUCTION?" Q questioned. "YOU REALLY ARE AS DULL AS MY MASTER INFORMED ME." Doctorman stood his ground. _It's now or never, _he thought, concentrating. _I have to call upon every ounce of my strength in order for this to work. _"DARKNESS BEAM, FIRE!" Q shouted, and the Dark energy fired towards Doctorman in a massive surge, engulfing him.

Q began laughing maniacally. "TRIETARY TARGET DESTROYED! RESUMING PERSUIT OF PRIMARY AND SECONDARY TARGETS!" Then Q noticed something. The beam was sputtering where Doctorman had stood. "ANOMALY DETECTED. SCANNING FOR LATER ANALYSIS." "Why wait till later to find out?" the voice of Doctorman said smugly. "I'll show you right now!" Suddenly, the beam began being pushed back, the sputtering occurring closer and closer to Q. "IMPOSSIBLE!" She shouted. "NOTHING CAN SURVIVE THE DARKNESS BEAM!" Doctorman emerged from the beam running, picking up the Lunar Sword on the way. "Nothing except the power of Light, Nasod of Darkness!" Quickly, he hit her with the blunt edge of the sword, stunning her momentarily. Doctorman brought his sword back, and began channeling power in to the sword. "Time to knock that Darkness right out of you," he said quietly, before shouting, "Precision Light!" He swung his sword at her, and as it hit her, Q barely had time to utter "IMPOSSIBLE…" before being sent into the opposite wall and exploding into fire and Darkness.

Doctorman breathed quickly after the attack, then sighed with relief. "I did it," he said to himself. "I saved the Core."


	15. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

"Doctorman!" Dawn called out as she entered the Core. Doctorman turned to see her, though she gave off an distinct energy that Doctorman had not felt before. "Dawn? Are you alright?" he asked, concerned for her. "Yes, I'm fine, but what about you?" she responded, running towards him. "Corraine told me you had gone to fight Q on your own, and I saw a beam of Darkness come through the wall and…" she stopped, afraid to keep speaking. Doctorman looked at her apologetically. "I'm sorry if I scared you," he told her. "But it was the only way I could catch her off guard so I could destroy her." "So you trusted in the Light in order to end the Darkness…" a bold voice echoed throughout the Core, startling Doctorman and Dawn. Doctorman put himself in front of Dawn, his sword ready.

"You have no need to fear, last Knight Doctorman," the voice said. "for your safety or the Priestess. I am the one who guided you here." Light began to flow from the area and converge on the center platform of the Core. Doctorman kept his sword up. "Get out of here, Dawn," he said quietly. "No," she whispered back. "I have the strength to fight with you, and I will not leave you to fight alone again." The Light materialized into the form of a man, and then dimmed. The man looked at Doctorman, and he instantly fell to his knees. "Master, I'm sorry. I should have recognized your voice," he said hastily. "Do not worry, you had every right to be worried and skeptical," he told him. "I'm here to take you back to your world."

"What?" Dawn and Doctorman said simultaneously. "Doctorman, you now have the strength to rescue your world from Darkness. You have the power to save it. Your time in this realm is at its end." Doctorman looked up at his master in disbelief. "But…I'm as much a part of this world now as I am of my own!" he exclaimed. "People here are-" "depending on you and in some cases have grown attached to you." His master finished, glancing at Dawn at the end. "But if you do not return now, I am sorry to say that I can't interfere in your world any longer. I'm risking myself coming here! You must go back and save your world, or it will never recover from the Darkness."

Dawn was devastated. _I just got the strength to help the man who saved my life so many times, and now he has to leave forever? The only one who ever treated me as a genuine friend, and not as anyone special? _Tears began to form in her eyes and Doctorman, seeing her in this state, walked up to her and embraced her. "It's alright," he told her soothingly. "I won't be gone forever. I swear, as soon as my world is saved, I will come back and help you save yours." Doctorman paused and then releasing her from his embrace, he reached inside his shirt and pulled out a necklace. Dawn looked at it in awe. It was a small, circular necklace with a glowing stone set in the middle. Slowly, Doctorman took of the necklace and put it around her neck. "This necklace was the last thing given to me by my father," he said quietly. "He told me it was linked to our family line, the line of Knights. Legend has it that it was given to the first Knight by a heavenly being. Every time it left the possession of the Knight of the age, it always returned to him."

Dawn looked at the necklace, then up at Doctorman. "I can't accept this-" she started. "Take it," he said peacefully. "It will protect you while I am in my world." Dawn tried to speak, but could not find any words to speak with. Doctorman leaned close to her ear, and whispered, "My Knight name is Raguna, but it is not my birth name. The one who held my birth name died when Darkness invaded." "Please…tell me your true name," Dawn whispered back, but Doctorman shook his head. "Maybe someday…" he said. "When Darkness has ceased to be a problem." He drew back, and kissed her lightly on the forehead. "Farewell for now, Princess Dawn of the Nasods, and Priestess of Light," he said. Then Doctorman's master summoned a blinding column of Light, eveloping both him and Doctorman. Dawn shielded her eyes, tears streaming down. When the light died down, she looked to see nothing where the Doctorman once stood. "Raguna…" she said quietly to herself. "I'll wait for you to return…even if I must wait a lifetime…" She turned and walked out of the Core, gripping Raguna's gift tightly.

"So, Q-Omega failed?" Darkside asked blandly, sitting casually on the throne of Dark Elder. "I blame myself, Darkside," Speka said solemnly. "I did not fully override her data, I sensed a Light in her that might turn the code against us." "No need to worry," he said, flicking a bit of Dark magic towards the stone statue of Hoffman. "You did say you managed to copy the structure of this Nasod, correct?" Speka bowed. "I'm working on constructing it as we speak," she said. "And this one will be far stronger than the one we found." "Excellent," Darkside said. "Speka, I think for now we should lay low. Bide our time. I myself plan on returning to the world I originally inhabited." "Darkside!" Speka cried, standing up. "Why would you do such a thing?" "I feel the process is going to slow, and I want to demoralize the Knight. He is, after all, from the same realm as I." A small dark aura appeared in his eyes, as if it could drain all the Light from something just by looking at it.

Speka paused, partly out of fear, and partly out of concern. "Are you sure that is wise?" she said. "What if the Chosen try to retake Elder?" "You need not worry," Darkside said, standing from his throne, morphing into darkness. "They won't strike until Doctorman is at full power and is fully awakened." With that, the Darkness disappeared, and Speka was left alone in the throne room.

_So, you _did _make it out alive, Raguna, _Darkside thought to himself as he shifted worlds. _Time to show you that determination has its limits, and Darkness has unlimited potential. Darkness will consume everything until all is Darkness. Light has no chance against it! _

The Chosen were gathered outside of the Altera Core, along with Dawn. Everyone was silent as Dawn explained to them what happened in the Core. Dawn withheld from them the name of the Doctorman, as well as the gift he had given her. "He will return when he has finished saving his world," she concluded. The Chosen stood still silent for a moment. Then Elsword spoke. "Then we better make ready for when he returns. We don't want to have him come back to a world consumed by Darkness. Elder is beyond our reach, but there are other places Darkness is spreading. We must focus on ousting that Darkness, and training hard, so that when he does return, we can put an end to Darkness once and for all!"

Everyone nodded in agreement. Dawn closed her eyes and imagined Doctorman was standing in front of her. _Raguna, _she thought. _I will grow strong enough to fight by your side in the coming Darkness. _

**END BOOK 1**


	16. Chapter 15

**BOOK 2**

Chapter 15

Xoudan kicked the cell wall. As usual, it made a small dent that was instantly restored through the Dark properties of the stone. "Why do the Dark creatures throw us in cells and not slay us?" he asked furiously. "You know they like to demoralize people," his twin sister, Xila, replied, sharpening her hidden knife. "They feed off of the loss of hope, and maybe even the essence of Light hidden inside each of us." Xoudan smirked. "Yeah, well, at least they could torment us a bit," he said, kicking the wall again. "Be less boring to be here that way." "I think they need approval from the chief creature first," Xila said, her face devoid of emotion. "And who knows who it is? All of the things here are clearly Dark creatures, but they all look the same, except for those ones that guard us."

The two armored guards, with their demonic shields as their only visible weapon, growled at them. "Shut your traps!" the left one yelled. "Or we may just have to torment you! We're only keeping you alive for bait!" "OI!" the right one shouted, smacking the left with his shield. "Ya weren't suppost ta say that! Now dey might try to kill themselves!" "What does it matter, we're going to kill them in the end!" the left grumbled, rubbing the side of his face. "We already have the 'news' out that the twin commanders X captured. _He _will most definitely show up, so why bother keeping the two alive?" The two guards continued to bicker, and Xoudan smirked. "Now this is entertainment!" he commented.

Xila was silent. He _will come? _She thought to herself. _What, they think they can trap the warrior who came to rescue us? The one who single-handedly defeated an army of Dark creatures? _"Pst!" a voice whispered from the cell window, high above the ground. The twins looked up and saw nothing, but they recognized the voice. "Step away from the window," the voice whispered. Xoudan got off of the cell bench and walked to the door casually. Xila put her whet stone away and waited. Suddenly, an explosion sounded, and the Dark guards became startled. "What was that?" the left one asked. "It sounded like it came from the Warden's office!" The two guards rushed off up the stairs, oblivious to the gaping hole in the cell behind them.

"Heh, those two are the best guards I've seen in a long time," Xoudan commented. "Entertaining _and _idiots-What more could a prisoner want?" With that, he jumped up the crumbled Dark stone, which was trying to reform without success. Xila followed, taking the Dark stones and setting them into the wall to reform faster. _Leave no trace, _her espionage instructor had said. She certainly was not going to break that rule now. After the wall had returned, the hooded figure before them gestured for them. "Hurry, I would rather get away before the alarm sounds," he said. The three of them set off running across the empty compound. "Why is this place so empty?" Xoudan commented. "I don't even think there are any other prisoners here." "You would be right in that," a chilling voice echoed, and a frozen column shot from the sky to the ground in front of them.

For a moment it just stood there, then it shattered to reveal a towering creature. It roared, echoing throughout the area. "Xoudan, Xila…" the hooded man said. "Get out of here now, while you have the chance." The twins nodded. They knew the drill. Swiftly, the espionage commanders X disappeared into the night, and fled the compound silently. After ascertaining that they had gone some distance, the hooded man addressed the creature. "Are you just going to stand there and roar, or are you going to kindly get out of my way?" The creature stopped roaring and glared at the hooded man. "This trap was set by me to capture you, meddler. You are not supposed to be here-You don't even want to be here!" "Hmph."

The man took off his hood, letting his fierce eyes be visible, his warrior braid blowing in the wind. "Why would I not want to be in the world I was born in?" the Doctorman asked. "True, I thought I would have returned to Elrios already and lived there for at least a year, but there is still much Darkness here, and I'm not leaving until it is gone." The creature was taken aback by the statement and the ferocity in Doctorman's eyes. _He is stronger than I originally thought…No matter, I'll tear him down anyway. _"Do you realize who you are dealing with?" the creature asked. "No, but I'm sure you won't keep me waiting," he replied, pulling out the Lunar Sword. Scowling, the creature was growing more and more uneasy. _Why is he taking me so casually? Maybe he just does not know my reputation…_"I am Neo Berthe! Reborn through the Dark magic and power of the Shadow Lord, combined with the alchemic prowess of Morbid Salus, who's skills far surpass his master Joaquain's!" The Doctorman paused. "Reborn? You were already slain?" Berthe laughed. "Indeed, I was the leader of the strike force in Feita when the first War of Elrios! I succeeded in my duty before I was slain, yet still the war was lost! Now I am reborn, with the power to destroy all who stand in my path!"

Doctorman readied his sword. "I suppose you won't just let me leave?" "Not at all, you are the reason I came here," Neo Berthe said. "To take you to Darkside and be restrained once and for all!" Doctorman hesitated. _Should I go with him? It might let me end this faster. The battles have raged on in my world far too long, and if I can lure them out…_"I'll go with you," he said, putting away his sword. "If you promise me you will pull out of my world!" Berthe smiled slyly. "I'll do that…" he said. _But the taint crystal is already here_ , _so your world will surely succumb. _With that, Neo Berthe grabbed the Doctorman and disappeared.

Xoudan and Xila reappeared from the shadows. "Did you get that, Xila?" Xoudan asked his twin. "I did, though I'm not happy about it…" she said quietly. "That thing, Berthe, thought about something called a taint crystal, which is leading to our world being Darkened. We need to locate and destroy it if we want a chance to save Heiran." Xoudan nodded. "I still don't understand why I can't read minds," he commented, the two of them running out of the compound unseen. "I still don't understand how you managed to know that something important for the cause of Light required us to stay and listen in." she responded, her face expressionless. "But why did the Knight Raguna go with that thing?" Xoudan shrugged. "He has a plan, like he always does. Maybe he really wants to go back to that Elrios place the creature mentioned."

Xila was silent. She thought back to when she first met Raguna, after he had led a rescue party on a impound 2 years ago…Everyone was gathered around the several campfires that had been made, the army and liberated all rejoicing at the victory. The Doctorman sat at the edge of the camp, looking up at the stars. Xila, curious about why the commander would separate himself from his troops, came to talk with him. "Thank you for saving us," she said bowing. Raguna turned, apparently startled, but smiled and said, "It was what needed to be done. I don't like hearing of the torment people go through in those prisons." Xila sat down next to him. "Why are you not with everyone else, celebrating?" He sighed. "Because now is not the time to celebrate," he replied glumly. "The war rages on, not just here, but in Elrios as well…and I am unable to protect my dearest friend." Xila persisted. "But you just had victory over the most heavily fortified prison built by Darkness! Surely, you can lighten up a little." Raguna looked at her and said, "I left her only yesterday. To celebrate now…I just can't." He looked up at the stars. "I know you and your twin brother, Xoudan, are special. There will come a time when I will go back to Elrios, and then the fate of Heiran will rest upon your shoulders. This may have been the world I was born in, but it is not the world I belong in."

Xila had been puzzled by those words throughout the two years she had known him. He tried to explain what the world 'Elrios' was like, the young woman he left behind, the war going on, and while she pretended to understand to be polite, she often thought of him as a powerful warrior driven insane by the Darkness. _Doctorman, I hope you find what you are looking for, _she thought, then she sprinted ahead of her brother. If any one was to give the news that the Doctorman had been captured, it would be her.


	17. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Dawn was running down the hallway, alarms sounding everywhere. "INTRUDER ALERT! ALL NON-ALCHEMICAL PERSONAL ELIMINATE THE INTRUDER WITH NO MERCY!" it sounded continuously. "Typical," Dawn said aloud. "The one time I decide to go with Corraine on a recon mission, and the 'disabled' alarm system goes off." "There must have been a second alarm that alerts when a strong Light is in the building," Corraine spoke through the earpiece. "Just see if you can buy some time so I can get the information." _Sigh, _she thought. _I hoped it would not come to that. I know I can do it, but even so, she knows I only learned to fight so I could help Raguna. _Turning around, she saw a crowd of shadow demons, with a sinister yellow outlining their purple bodies. She stretched out her hand towards them, her drones circling it like a bracelet. "Solstice Ray!" she shouted, and a small concentrated beam of light flew from her hand towards the demons, piercing them and causing the ones unaffected by the attack to pause in their pursuit.

Taking advantage of the minor delay in the demons, she rushed towards them, her drones firing orbs of electronic energy. The demons, in their confusion, retreated. _Nice, I got them by surprise, _Dawn thought to herself. She kept chasing them, her drones picking off the demons one by one, until they ran back to the center of the underground demon compound. At the center, a Shadow Master stood tall, yelling at the demons for retreating. "Stop running, it is only one!" it shouted. "You far outnumber her, and you are stronger then her! Overpower her!" The outermost demons did not get a chance to heed this order, but the Shadow Creatures gradually began turning around and attacking Dawn.

Dawn stopped and began to hold her ground. _I hope I have not gone in too deep…_She worried inwardly, and she began to concentrate. Her drones, their A.I. significantly increased, began acting independently and assaulted the demons. Demons were unable to make it past the drones, but they were closing in around Dawn. "Just give me a little more time," Corrainne told her over the earpiece. "I almost have the data!" Dawn ignored her. _Raguna…give me strength._ She silently called out. The necklace he had given her began to glow brightly. "Lunar Eclipse!" she shouted, and an orb of light shone out from her. It engulfed all the surrounding demons, obliterating them as it filled them with Light. The Shadow Master sneered. _I was waiting for this moment. _It thought devilishly, and it created a black sphere around itself and compressed it to the size of an atom with it inside. After a short time, the whole center compound was full of Light. It stayed for 15 seconds, then receded, returning to Dawn.

When it finally finished, Dawn sighed, and almost collapsed. "At least the demons are gone now," she said. Then she noticed the Dark sphere the Shadow Master created growing larger, and it disappeared to reveal the Shadow Master, unscathed from the attack. "I've been waiting for the day when I would witness the Priestess of Light's greatest attack. I must say, I'm rather disappointed." It flicked its wrist, and a dark rope flew from his hand and wrapped itself around Dawn. Dawn tried to move, but she barely succeeded in standing up. _My body…feels like lead…_she thought, glaring at the laughing demon. "You won't escape the Soul Link," it said menacingly. "I've taken the time to perfect it to the point where only what I allow can be done by the one I hold captive." It tugged at the Dark rope, throwing Dawn forward onto the ground. "Come, there is someone who wishes to meet you," it burbled. "Like I have a choice," Dawn said under her breath, reluctantly following along.

"Dawn, I'm outside the base, where are you?" Corraine asked her through the earpiece. Dawn glanced up at the demon, praying it did not hear. Thankfully, it did not seem to notice. "Change in plans," Dawn said quietly. "Get out of here and tell the Chosen I've been captured. My drones are on the way to you right now." "Alright," Corraine responded. "Be careful, and don't get yourself killed." Dawn remained silent, following the Shadow Master to who knows where.

Corraine was unsure of what to do now. "Damn," she said, kicking a rock into the base. "I swore to the Nasod Queen that Dawn would be safe. This is vital information, but if I go back without the Princess…" she shuddered. She remembered the last time she made the Nasod Queen angry. She was lucky she did not lose her status as head of the top recon unit that time. She looked over her shoulder back into the mouth of the cave that led to the compound. "Grr…I wish there was something I could do, but I don't have any other choice." Turning her back, she was about to leave when Dawn's drones flew out from the base. Corraine had an idea. "Hey, you can store data, right?" she asked the white drone. "Poro is a Nasod. Why would Poro be unable to store data?" it responded. Corraine took out the drive she had stolen from the demon computer. "Take this to the Chosen, I'm going after Dawn," she commanded. Poro made a link to it electronically, then said, "Poro will go, but Poro will not go alone. Poro needs Folo." "Fine," Corraine said impatiently, wanting to chase after Dawn as soon as possible. "Just go!"

She dashed into the compound again, her thoughts overtaking her. _I will find Dawn, and while I am at it, I may as well look for Demon El for the alchemist to analyze. It should not be too difficult to find some, seeing as they will most likely take her to the demon realm._ Shuddering at the thought, she ran faster. _I better get there before they go to the demon realm._


	18. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Doctorman looked around his cell. He was admittedly bored, seeing as Neo Berthe had taken his weapon and set just out of reach from the cell door. There were no guards to converse with, and the cell was rather bare, with the only thing in the way of furnishing being a small table and a bookshelf with a pot on it, presumably with nothing in it. He sighed. "You would think they would give me something to do besides try to think of a way to escape," he said aloud. Suddenly, a shadowy hand appeared out of the ground and hissed at him…somehow. Somewhat amused, he continued. "It's not like it is hard to do, I am pretty sure there is an escape route behind that pot, and my sword can easily be retrieved." As he expected, more Shadow hands appeared and hissed as a group. He smiled smugly at them. "I suppose you wish me to shut up, right?" A hand appeared inside his cell. Instantly, Doctorman assaulted it, giving it a hard kick at the wrist. This knocked it back, as well as the odd dark rift it came out of. Hissing in anger, it grabbed the pot and threw it at Doctorman.

He jumped onto the table and looked to where the pot had originally been. As he expected, there was a small opening in the wall. He jumped at the ledge, but was caught by the hand mid jump and was pulled to the ground. "Guess I'm doing this the hard way," he grumbled under his breath. He rolled to his side, breaking free of the hand's grasp, and stood up, his left hand curled into a fist. The hand inside the cell shook itself off, and growled menacingly. "How do you manage to make noise without a mouth?" Doctorman jeered. "You're just a hand!" Apparently angered by this statement, it flew at Doctorman in a fist. Doctorman threw out his left hand, uncurled, and caught the Shadowy hand in mid-flight. Frantically, the hand tried to escape, and seemed to give off a muffled scream for help.

The hands that had been outside the cell, somehow able to see despite their anatomy, decided that now was the time to leave, presumably to report the incident and none were outside. "You don't have any backup, so how about you do what I say?" Doctorman suggested. "You know what I am capable of…I could turn you into pure Light, and you would turn to stone on the spot, purified of Darkness." The hand shook in his grasp, not wanting to be stone. "Then take me outside of this cell-I know you can teleport." The hand tensed up, and then it relaxed, apparently giving up. It pulled itself into the shadow hole its arm started from, and Doctorman followed into it calmly. Instantly, Doctorman came out of another shadow hole outside the cell, still holding the Shadow hand in his grasp. "Much obliged, you can go alert your master now," Doctorman said, letting go. The hand did not leave. Doctorman picked up his Lunar Sword and was about to walk towards where he knew the center chamber was when he noticed the hand was not leaving. "What is it?" he asked it.

Suddenly, the hand latched onto his face, and Doctorman tensed up, ready for a fight. Instead, however, his mind became flooded with images of Darkside and the demons beating the hands, as well as a couple of other Dark creatures Doctorman had not seen before. "I get it…" he said, understanding. "You don't want to go back, lest you be punished severely, possibly killed." The hand detached itself from his face and gave him a thumbs up, as if to affirm his statement. "So why don't you fight back?" he asked. The hand reached out and motioned for Doctorman to take it. He did so, unafraid, and another wave of visions overtook him, this time only words.

_Alone, we don't have a chance, _they read. _But together, we can do it. I want to help you, Knight. If you would be so kind, I would like to show you that not every denizen of Doomaria wants the destruction of Light. _Doctorman was taken aback by this. _I guess it would make sense that there would be fighting amongst Dark, _he thought, hopefully to himself. _But to not want Light's destruction? _Suddenly, more words came. _I understand you are skeptical, _they read. _But please, give me a chance. I swear I won't harm or betray you. _Realizing that while in this state, they can read each other's minds, Doctorman responded, _If you wish, but realize that if we are caught, you will certainly be slain by Darkside. _The hand sent back, _I know that, and as for my name, call me __**Eskora, **__which means 'Grey One' in our language. _Doctorman let go of the hand that was Eskora. "Well, then, Eskora, let us be on our way." Then he noticed his left hand had a Dark seal on its palm. "What is this?" he asked aloud, then he heard Eskora in his head. _It is a symbol of my pact with you to never betray. It also allows us to communicate without contact. _"Is that all this means?" he asked, hastening forward, hearing guards coming. _I cannot say, for a __**Brissila**__, 'Light One' has never had a seal of this kind. But it typically grants a Doomarian the ability to use Dark magic where the seal exists. _

Suddenly, a Demon fell from the rafters, and lunged forward, a sharp knife aimed at Doctorman's heart. Doctorman only barely leaned back to avoid being wounded, but it cut part of his cloak. He retaliated instinctively by throwing his left fist into the Demon. As soon as the fist hit the demon, it was launched into the opposite wall from the side it was hit. Taking advantage of the stunned demon, Doctorman drew his sword and ran it through the heart, or where he hoped a demon's heart was. Pulling it out, the demon crumpled in a heap on the floor, the dagger falling out of its grasp. He flexed his hand. "I'm not sure how I feel about having part of me being Dark…" he said sighing. _Do not worry, __**fosano, **__it might not be permanent. _Eskora said, attempting to comfort his new companion. _And even if it is, I would take it as an honor to be the first to wield the power of Light and Dark simultaneously. _Doctorman looked at the seal and sighed. Turning away from the demon, he set off down the hall, with Eskora following in a tunnel of Darkness underneath him.


	19. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Dawn did not struggle as the Shadow Master pulled her through the corridors. She did not have the strength to if she tried, but she wanted to see if she could interrogate her captor before they reached their destination. "Where are you taking me?" she asked, doing her best to fake fear. "I'm taking you to the castle of the Dark King." "Darkside?" she gasped, shuddering at the thought of meeting him face to face, without Raguna at her side. "No," the Shadow Master laughed. "Darkside is merely the prince of Darkness-nothing compared to the King. He will ensure your visit to Doomaria will be…eventful." Dawn bit her lip, trying to hide the fear that was now growing in her. _Doomaria? I've not heard of a place like that. Is that the demon realm, or worse…_ "You dare to call me a demon!?" the Shadow Master stopped, turning sharply towards her. "The 'demons' you have seen here are nothing more than mongrels that you of your world have rejected. I am a Doomarian, a true denizen of Darkness! I have more power than you can imagine. Just be grateful that Doomarians did not launch their full assault until now-your realm would have been consumed within a week!"

Suddenly, they stopped. There was a wall in front of them, and Dawn was unsure of what to think. "You must think I took a wrong turn," the Shadow Master said to Dawn. "But that is what makes this portal so ingenious-none would suspect a wall would be the portal to Doomaria, the homeland of me and my brethren." Dawn swallowed. _I must be strong…I have to escape from there as soon as I can._ Suddenly, a creature was flung out of the wall, landing in front of the Shadow Master. It paused for a moment, then muttered, "I was not alerted of this…" Suddenly, Doctorman jumped out of the portal and lunged at the Shadow Master with his sword aimed at his head. "Raguna!" Dawn shouted joyfully. The Shadow Master, slightly disoriented, tried to move to the side, but was not quick enough to evade Raguna's strike completely. A Dark ooze poured out from the side of his head, and the link to Dawn was severed, allowing her full movement once again.

"Fool!" it shouted. "You think that you can beat me that easily?" Dawn tensed herself, preparing to fire a beam of light, when a Shadowy hand came out of the ground and restrained the Shadow Master. "Traitor! What are you doing?" it shouted. Raguan then lunged forward, plunging the sword in the heart of the Shadow Master, which instantly turned to dust. "Hmph…You had it coming." Raguna said, with slight disgust. "Raguan…" Dawn whispered. "You came back." He turned to face her. "Of course I came back, Priestess," he scoffed. "I'm not going to abandon my mission." He walked past her without any kind of emotion. "Come on, let's get out of this dump."

Dawn was stunned. _This is not Raguna, not at all, _she thought. _Is it possible…he forgot about me?_ Tears began to form in her eyes, but she held them back. _I need to find out for certain. _"Wait!" she said, and she took off the necklace Raguna gave her when he left two years ago. "What now?" he asked impatiently. He saw the necklace and stopped. "Where did you get that?" he asked, shocked. "I knew it," Dawn said, determined. "You aren't Raguna. Who are you?" "I don't understand, Priestess. How do you know my name?" Dawn refused to listen, and fired a laser from her fingers, which the imposter managed to lean backwards to avoid. The laser cut across his face, and Dark blood spurted from it. He straightened himself out, then put a hand to his face to feel the cut. "Now you have upset me, Priestess," the imposter stated, beginning to morph into a dark orb. "That will cost you dearly." Dawn stood her ground, when the hand from earlier came out of the ground and grabbed her by the leg, pulling her to the ground.

"Take her to my domain, Istran," the orb instructed. "and make sure she is unharmed-I wish to torment her before she dies." Dawn shot an angry glance at him. The hand grunted, and began dragging Dawn to the portal. "So you wish to see my old friend, the Knight?" the orb mused. "So be it. You'll get to watch him die." The orb shrunk down to take the form of the Prince of Darkness, Darkside. "How-" "I can take any form I wish to go about my business," Darkside explained to the bewildered Priestess. "I had the pleasure of being informed of where Raguna is in the palace, and I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to come and infiltrate the Chosen, acting as a spy for the Doomarians, seeing as he approaches his certain demise. However, he seemed to have planned for that by growing close to you." He smiled at her devilishly. "I can't decide which will give me more pleasure," he said evilly. "Making you witness the Knights death…or taking away the last cherished person of the Knight before destroying him." Darkside cackled manaically, and before Dawn could gasp in horror, she was pulled through the portal, with Darkside following.

Corraine jumped down and rushed at the rippling wall. "NO!" she shouted, and lunged at the portal, only to slam into solid rock as the portal closed. "Damnit!" she swore through grit teeth. "I was so close! I have to get there and help them!" She pounded her fist on the wall, shaking it slightly, but leaving no mark upon it. Then Corraine noticed the Shadow Master was stirring ever so slightly. "Urrgh…" it groaned. "That…bastard." "If you were anyone else, I'd kill you right now," Corraine told it. "That voice…could it be you, Corraine?" it said. "Yeah, it is me, Master Lucio." She responded bitterly. "Though quite frankly, I'm disgusted by you." "Corraine…I never…" Lucio started. "I don't care. I'm not letting you or your kind influence me like you did to my mother." Corraine snapped, glaring at her mentor in magic. He was silent. "I know…you despise me…but please…" Lucio coughed. "I want to help…bring that bastard down." "Why would you do such a thing, is he not your Prince?" Corraine questioned angrily. "Will your kind think about nothing but betrayal?" "DO YOU WANT ME TO HELP YOU HELP YOUR ALLIES OR NOT!?" Lucio shouted, Dark blood spurting out of his mouth and head. Corraine stiffened, then nodded. "Then help me up, before I run out of strength," he commanded.

Corraine helped him stand up, lifting the Shadow Master by his arm. "Now what?" she asked. "Watch, my pupil," he said weakly. "and I will show you how to open the gate to Doomaria." The yellow patches of Darkness on him began to fade, and straining, Lucio fired a Dark bolt from his hand at the wall. The wall rippled violently, like a pond being disturbed by a large rock being thrust into it. "As long as it ripples….the gate is open…" Lucio said. "Should you need to reopen it…just concentrate your Dark magic…and fire it without thinking from your palm…." The Shadow Master hacked up more Dark blood. "My dying wish, Corraine" he said, his voice growing ever weaker, "…is that you make that son of a bitch, Darkside suffer for slaying…the last, ancient Shadow Master of Doomaria…me, Lucio Draconis-Morbid, the only Shadow Master…who made an appeal to the King…for peace…with…Light…" The yellow Darkness faded entirely from his body, and Corraine set down her old mentor on the ground.

"_No sora moro ti sholam…_ you won't be forgotten." She whispered, then she ran through the rippling portal, determined to fulfill the wish of her mentor and friend.


	20. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Eve paced around her bedroom, worried. "She should have been back by now," she said. Ophelia and Oberon watched silently. They were also worried, but tried not to let it get to them. They had to remain focused in case their mistress asked something of them. However, Moby and Reby were not constrained by this, and tried to comfort Eve while being worried themselves. "Reby thinks they are fine," the white drone said. "They are strong, they can handle whatever is out there." "I'm not concerned about that," Eve responded, slightly agitated. "This mission was supposed to take only three hours at most. It has been six hours, and there is not even any word of them, no message at all." Eve threw up her hands. "I should not have let my daughter go," she cried out. Just then, Ophelia exclaimed, "Look! Lady Dawn's drones!" Eve turned to look out the window, and sure enough, Poro andFolo were flying towards the window. "I bet they bring good news," Ophelia said, trying to encourage Eve, but Eve remained silent and doubtful.

"Folo should do it," Poro told its counterpart. "Poro is too timid." "But Poro is more sturdily built," Folo replied. "Folo is designed for electron generation, and avoids direct contact." "But Folo knows how to speak to the Queen," Poro said, beginning to panic as they neared the window. "And Poro has the data our mistress Dawn went to get with Corraine," Folo replied sternly. "No, Poro must do it." Poro let out a sigh, and moved in closer to face the Nasod queen. "Where is my daughter?" Eve asked immediately. "Poro…does not know," the little drone admitted. "Lady Dawn sent us back so that the data could be brought to you as quickly as possible." "So you just left her?" Eve said, her anger growing. "Corraine was there, and she went to rescue Poro's mistress." The drone stammered, then Eve cried out, "I knew it!" she fell to the floor despairing. "My daughter…lost to the demons…I should never have let her go…" She began to sob, expecting the worst from the rest of the drones news. "Queen Eve," Folo said, maintaining composure. "Your daughter is alive and well. Her arrival is delayed, but Folo is certain she is in perfect condition." Eve stopped her sobbing and stood up, taking a deep breath. "I'll believe you, as you do have seem different from other drones I've seen," she told them, trying to hide her sadness. "So you said you have the data?"

"Yes, Folo has the data!" Folo cried out, and it flew to the computer in Eve's room, linked itself to it, and began to stream the information. Eve looked at the encryptions flowing down the screen, and smiled slightly. "The demon's encryptions have not gotten any better over 20 years," she said, and immediately set to work typing in the codes to break the encryption. In about ten minutes, the data was readable and several files revealed themselves. "Where to start…" Eve mused, enjoying the time to sift through data. Noticing a file named "DRS", she opened it, only to find an empty screen. "So they are still bad at encryption," she said with a frown, "but they know how to hide things better." She motioned for Ophelia to bring her some tea, and set to work trying to get the file to reveal whatever secrets it held.

Outside, Elsword was relaxing in the grassy field, thinking about his daughter Ilene. _I have not heard from her in a long time. I hope she is alright. _"Ilene is fine," a melodic voice said, which Elsword recognized as his wife. He smiled. "I keep forgetting that you can read my mind as if it was an open book," he said with a laugh. "Well, you've never been hard to figure out," Rena said, sitting down next to him. They stayed silent, watching the wind blow across the fields of Altera. "I wish we were down on the main lands," Elsword mused aloud. "I know things have to be rough down there, and I want to be able to help. Why don't we?" Rena sighed. "I know, El, but if we went down there, we both know it would just bring great calamity to the area. We unfortunately attract the worst of the Demons when we fight, and we don't want to inflict that upon the civilians." Elsword shook his head. "We don't know what will happen until we get there," he replied.

"Do you want to risk your life, then?" Raven asked, walking up to them, overhearing their conversation. "I did it in the past," Elsword started. "But now you have more than just your life to risk," Raven told him. "You have a wife and child, and I doubt that Ilene will be your only child. You need to be alive and make the right decision for them. Going into an unknown battle is not the smartest thing to do. What if you die, Elsword? Who will take care of your family then?" Elsword said nothing. Raven sighed. "You were blessed by the elves when you married Rena, allowing you to live as long as her," he continued. "Why are you thinking about possibly throwing away your long life trying to fight an opponent you know nothing about?" "Raven, please," Rena said pleadingly. "This situation is hard on all of us. I know you are angry about the same thing, but be patient." "No, he's right," Elsword said, standing up. "I've been focusing on just me and trying to defeat the demons as quickly as possible to get my old wandering life back. I realize now that I have to slow down." Rena looked up at her husband. "Maybe the time has come where I don't need to wander anymore," he declared. "I think that after this war, we should go settle down in our forest home. Maybe then…" he sighed. "We will actually be able to raise our children, rather than teach them the basics and resume our wandering." Rena smiled at Elsword, and nodded.

Chung threw his Destroyer onto the workbench and sat down with his head in his hands. "There has to be something I can do to improve it," he said frustrated. He looked over at his cannon and tried to think of something he could do with it. "If I streamline the interior, it might allow for faster firing, but then I need something to hold the cannonballs in place." Aisha opened the door to his workshop. "Are you alright, Chung?" Chung looked up to see his wife, then back to the Destroyer, then sighed angrily. "I don't know," he said, anger beginning to show in his voice, hands clenching into fists. Aisha came over to his side and sat down next to him. "What's wrong?" she asked calmly. "This war is what's wrong," he said, straining to keep from shouting. "It has gone on for too long, and we have not been back to Hamel ever since this whole thing began." He set his hands on his lap and his eyes took on a distant look. "I miss the peacefulness and beauty of Hamel. All that I have from Hamel that is beautiful is you, my Queen. I don't know how our son is coping or whether or not the demons have attacked it, or whether or not Resiam has been rebuilt finally…"

Aisha looked at her husband, and smiled, placing her hand over his. "I know, sweetie, I know," she said, comforting him as best she could. "This war won't last too much longer. I sensed the presence of the Doctorman in this world, and he must be on his way here. When he gets here, we can finally end this conflict once and for all, and we can return to our life of peace for the rest of our lives." Chung looked at her, then nodded, silent tears forming in his eyes. They sat together in the workshop, trying to hold on to the moment of peace and tranquility that they had stumbled upon.

Ara Haan stood in the desert of Sander, bodies of demons strewn all over the area. The end of her spear glistened in the sunlight, and her hair was glowing the pure white color of the Gumiho inside of her. "How much longer will they persist?" the fox spirit asked. "Until all have become like my brother," Ara responded. "Consumed by Darkness, and unwilling to return to the Light." She twirled suddenly, and impaled a lunging demon assassin on her spear as she had done so many times before. "Will they never learn they can not take me by surprise?" the Gumiho smirked. "They probably know, but they refuse to try any other way," Ara told it, throwing the demon off of her spear, and continued her vigilant watch. "I thought you were going to rejoin your friends," the Gumiho said to Ara. "Why do you hesitate?" "I feel that we need to wait here," she said. "For here, I think the warrior who will end this war will come first." The fox spirit said nothing. It knew that Ara was right. It merely wished to see how far she had grown in the gift of foresight. _She is a fine guardian. I must ensure that she finds a wonderful husband sometime soon._ Ara breathed in deeply, and continued to stand in the desert, waiting.


	21. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

The Doctorman was beginning to grow restless. "Are you sure this is the way to the main hall, Eskora?" he asked the Istran. _I'm fairly certain, _he replied mentally. _But the royalty of Doomaria like to shift the dimensions of the castle on a whim. _Doctorman laughed weakly. "So this whole place could change in an instant," he said. "That's nice, especially if they know where we went." _This does appear to be the most straightforward they have made the halls in a long time, _Eskora said, its fingers twitching. _I feel like they want us to get to the center hall. _The Knight just shrugged. "If so, then I guess they're going to get their wish," he said plainly. _What if it is a trap?_ Eskora said, worry in his words. "It is most definitely a trap, I don't doubt that." Doctorman said casually to his Doomarian ally. "But I'd be disappointed if they did not have a trap in store for me. I didn't come all this way for it to be a walk in the park."

_What do you mean? _Eskora asked. _You wanted to come here? _Doctorman nodded. "I figured it was about time I got a good inside look of the main base, where I knew they would take me," he explained. _And also because you want to return to your love, correct? _Doctorman was taken aback. "How did you-" _I read minds, remember?_ The Istran reminded him smugly."I'm going to have to be careful about speaking to you then, because I don't want you to know my secrets," he said to his friend. "There are just some things better left in memory, unknown to anyone else."

As Eskora was about to respond, they came across a large double door in the middle of the hallway, decorated with several Dark writhing figures. "Well, I suppose this is the way to the center?" the knight asked his guide. The hand gave a silent thumbs up to indicate that he was right. "Well, then," he said, drawing his sword and placing his marked hand on the left door, "Let's not keep them waiting any longer, shall we?" _Indeed, _Eskora said, and placed its hand on the right. Together, the two of them flung the doors open. Inside the room were several Dark knights, gathered at the both sides of a long purple carpet leading to a throne of yellow and purple pulsating Darkness. On that throne, there was a tall, overly muscled man with a crown of the same eerie yellow that was on his throne, and armored in a suit of chain mail that gave off a strange otherworldly aura throughout the room.

The man stood up and snapped his fingers. Instantly, Neo Berthe appeared on the carpet, facing the Doctorman, and grinning evilly. "I'm going to enjoy freezing you in perpetual Darkness," the resurrected demon said, then he breathed a frozen breath down the carpet. Eskora moved in front of the Doctorman and shot fire out of his fingertips, immediately dissipating the frost. "It comes to me at no surprise you betrayed us, Istran." Neo Berthe snarled. "You always were a believer of peace with the Light. But today you learn that there is no reason to make peace with our opposite, for they will not stop until all of Darkness is destroyed, just as we won't stop until all Light is extinguished!" He roared, and charged them both running on four legs. Eskora was taken by surprise with this sudden charge, and did not sink back into his portal hole in time. Neo Bethe stomped on him, and aimed to take a bite out of Doctorman. Doctorman leaped over him, spinning with his blade so that it consistently sliced along his back. By the time he made it over the humongous demon, shadowy blood was spurting out of Berthe's back, and he was roaring in pain.

Standing up, Neo Berthe glared at Doctorman angrily. "You will pay for that, Knight!" he shouted. He dug his claws into the ground and flipped a huge chunk of dark stone at Doctorman. He readied his sword to hit it back, when suddenly, Eskora grabbed the whole stone and absorbed it into himself. Instantly, the Istran began to bubble and morph. Then, in an audible voice that echoed throughout the room, Eskora spoke. "You have always stepped on our race," he said, a mouth forming on the palm of the dark hand. "You considered us inferior and weak, and treated us as slaves. But that is only because you have never used Dark magic on us." Eskora was now forming into a colossus, human-like with glowing yellow eyes. A dark muffler covering his mouth, he stared directly at Neo Berthe. "You do not frighten me with your trickery, Istrite!" he roared. "Then why don't we take this elsewhere, so that you can truly prove you are better than me?" Eskora said, beckoning with his hand. A dark shroud enveloped the two titans, leaving Doctorman alone with the man on the throne, and the shadowy legion of dark knights. _I'll keep in touch, _Eskora told Doctorman mentally before being totally enveloped by the dark sphere.

No sooner had the sphere closed than Berthe pounced on Eskora, knocking him down. "You think this will help you, slave?" he growled. "I grow stronger with each passing second in this Dark realm!" Eskora threw him off and stood back up. "You are blinded by power, and thus you think you can crush anything that displeases you," Eskora said, looking into Berthe's eyes. "But the humans have a saying-Pride goes before the fall. And I can say without a doubt that you are losing your pride rather rapidly, Berthe." Berthe howled, and demons arose from the Dark Sphere. Some of them had razor thin wings on their back, with sharp claws for hands and feet. Others were just animated orbs of Darkness. Still others had the appearance of Light seraphim, but the light they gave off was tainted in nature. "These creatures come to my aid through a pact made through Darkness far greater than you can imagine, slave!" Berthe cried out. "They have no thoughts other than to spread Darkness of the purest kind! They are never truly destroyed, so fight them if you wish, you won't ever be rid of them!"

The creatures flew at Eskora and swarmed him, each of them attacking viciously with claws and Dark magic. Eskora flung them aside, dissipating them with the force of his strike. But for every one he destroyed, Neo Berthe summoned two more. _This is truly madness! _Eskora thought to himself. _To make a pact of this magnitude…He would have had to…No, I won't even think about it! _Ekora tried to force his way to Berthe, but more and more of the creatures attacked him, overwhelming him and knocking him down. The creatures held him down whilst Berthe walked over to him. Towering over the Istran, Berthe cackled with a laughter that was unheard of in Doomaria. "You really have done it, Berthe," Eskora said in shock. "OF COURSE! THIS WAY I AM THE STRONGEST THERE IS," Berthe yelled in voice that was far different than the voice he had not 10 minutes ago. "AND MY POWER WILL KEEP GROWING!" "Why would you let that _thing _in!?" Eskora demanded to know. "It was not to ever be released from the prison it was chained in, and you set it free-Why!?"

"BECAUSE THE TIME OF THIS PITIFUL KINGDOM IS OVER, ISTRAN!" Berthe shouted at him. "DARKSIDE HAS HAD LONG ENOUGH TO BRING ABOUT THE END OF THE THREE GUARDIAN DIMENSIONS! I'M GOING TO CRUSH NOT JUST THEM, BUT ALL THE DIMENSIONS OF THE UNIVERSE IN A MATTER OF WEEKS WITH THIS POWER!" Eskora looked at him fearfully. _He is losing control….Truly, we are all doomed if nothing is done to stop him now. _Calling on the last of his strength, Eskora threw off the creatures binding him, and charged Berthe. When he came into contact with him, Berthe was unmoved. "FOOL, YOU ARE ONLY DELAYING THE INEVITABLE!" he laughed, calling up a legion of creatures from his fingertips. _This has to work, if not forever than at least long enough for Doctorman to find a way to victory! _Eskora thought, and he began to fade into the Dark sphere he created. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING, WASTREL!?" Berthe cried out. "I'm dragging you into the Void, where you originally existed!" Eskora responded weakly. "This will stop your maniacal plan of conquest!"

Berthe noticed he was fading along with Eskora, and howled, clawing at the Istran, trying to stop him, but to no avail. "YOU INSOLENT CUR! YOU WILL NEVER STOP ME!" he yelled, calling the dark creatures back to him. "I know I won't," the Istran said. "But the Knight will!" With that, the two of them completely faded away into the dark orb. _Doctorman, _Eskora communicated with the last of his conscious. _Prepare to face something even worse than the King of Darkness at some point. I will hold him as long as I can._


	22. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

Doctorman heard Eskora, and watched the orb fade away into nothingness. _Eskora…_he thought solemnly. _You will not be forgotten, my friend. _"Well, now that those two are out of the way, let's get down to business, shall we?" the man on the throne addressed Doctorman, standing up. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am the King of Darkness, Morbidrian." Doctorman began to speak, but the man raised his hand as he said, "No need to tell me who you are. My son, Darkside, and I have known who you are ever since you revealed your power as a Knight. What are you called now, Raguna? Or did you fully adopt the name of Doctorman? Or even your original name-" "How do you know so much about me?" Raguna interrupted. Morbidrian smirked. "I've always known who you were, even before Darkness began its assault on this world. Do you not recall the day you heard you great-grandfather vanished mysteriously, presumed dead?" Raguna just glared at him.

The King of Darkness frowned. "Did your master take that memory from you as well?" he asked with mock sadness. "No, my Master took no memories from me," Raguna responded, gripping his blade tighter. "In fact, he showed me about you, and the pact you made with Darkness. You are no longer my ancestor-you are just a vessel for the Dark Prince, Darkside."

"Darkside is the prince of Darkness," he replied, slightly irritated. "I am the King, how can I also be the Prince?" "Don't lie, I can see right through you," Doctorman said, staring into his foe's eyes. "You're trying to trick me Darkside, and it will not work. So how about you stop hiding and face me like the 'king' you are?" The man strode towards him, smiling. "I should have known you would not be fooled, Doctorman." he said with mock admiration. "After all, your Master had to have informed you well. Well, if that is the case, then I see no reason to delay any longer." He waved his hand towards the wall, and it disintegrated to reveal Dawn being suspended over a pit of Darkness. "Raguna!" She called out in despair. "Dawn!" the Doctorman called back, terrified by this turn of events. "Yes, I have your precious Priestess captive. If I give the word, she will fall into eternal Darkness, where she will suffer forever." Doctorman glared at him. "You wouldn't dare-" "You think so? Is that a challenge?" The Knight remained silent. "Drop your sword, or I'll condemn her!" Darkside said with an evil cackle. "You can't win, and you know it. Just give up, and give me the pleasure of destroying you, once and for all. So make your choice. If you charge me, I'll drop her. If you drop your sword, I'll release her. I don't mind waiting, for I know you will make a choice in the end."

Raguna looked at Dawn longingly. He sighed inwardly. _Master…what do I do? _He asked. _**Drop your sword, **_he heard his Master respond. _**I know what to do, trust me. **_"Fine," Raguna said aloud, with his word echoing throughout the room. "I've decided…to drop my sword." He released his grasp on the Lunar Sword, which stuck in the Dark stone beneath him. Darkside roared with laughter as he drew his sword in front of him. "The mighty last scion of the Knights has failed, all because of the very thing they said makes them strong," he mocked. "Heart, love, the benefit of others, call it what you will, it still failed you. And now," he said, placing the point of the sword on Doctorman's chest, where his heart was. "The Knights fall!" He plunged the sword into him, and Raguna uttered nothing as his blood began to pour out of him. "NO!" Dawn shrieked as Darkside pulled his sword out of Doctorman. He fell on his knees, clutching his chest. "And now," Darkside said, turning to face Dawn. "To end the Priestess!" he declared.

Suddenly, Darkside breathed in sharply, as though all the air in the room had disappeared, and all of a sudden, a brilliant light filled the room. "**Not today, tomorrow, or any other day, will you harm her!**" an unknown voice boomed. Darkside turned to see an old swordsman bathed in light wielding the Lunar Sword looking at him, with Doctorman's body gone. **"You won't escape from the treachery you have committed this day, Darkside," **he said in a firm, determined voice. **"For now your foe is the original Knight, Suzoko! The greatest Knight, who sealed himself in a dimension of nothingness in order to preserve those he loved, has come to bring your end!" **Darkside trembled with fear, and shouted, "Dark Knights! Strike!" The legion of Knights in the room stood up, drawing their blades, but were instantly vaporized by two swings his sword. "Who…What are you!?" Darkside demanded. Suzoko looked at him and said, **"The 1****st**** and greatest Knight, Suzoko. But now I return to my domain, and leave you my protégé." **With that, another brilliant light spread throughout the room, and no one saw anything. When it dimmed, Raguna was standing there, completely recovered, and glaring at Darkside, who was stammering with fear.

"T-this should not be!" he declared. "I-I killed you just now, I-I'm sure of it!" The Doctorman strode towards him. "It's over for you, Darkside," he said. "Let Dawn go, and I promise I will not kill you today." "Why would you do that?" Darkside replied. "I thought you wanted to kill me." "My only goal as always been to be able to protect the worlds from Darkness." he explained. "I'm giving you an opportunity to back out of this. Please, for the sake of your kingdom, take it." He walked past him to Dawn, and helped her down from the trap. "You're alive…" she said, relief in her voice. "Only thanks to a good friend," he replied, holding her tightly. He had just released her when suddenly, a bolt of Darkness hit Doctorman in the back, and sent him falling into the pit of Darkness. "Raguna!" Dawn cried, trying to grab him as he fell. "I won't allow him to mock me any longer…" Darkside said. "I'll take his advice and back out of this war, but he must go into torment, just like I went through…" With that, Darkside caused Dawn to be teleported away, leaving him alone.

"Why…" Darkside said, "Why can't I ever WIN!?" he shouted suddenly, pounding his throne so hard it cracked. "Light and Darkness are always at war-that is the way it has been for millennia! Sometimes the Light wins, sometimes Darkness wins…but ever since _he _appeared, Darkness has never had a true and complete victory!" _**I understand your frustration, O King. **_A sinister voice echoed in his head. _**I am here to help you. **_"Who are you and where are you?" Darkside demanded. _**I can't reveal myself, but I can give you power. Care to partake? **_"Of course!" the Dark King cried. "With it, I could end the Knight once and for all!" _**Then here is the deal I make to you-find the Orsan Rune hidden deep in the earth of Elrios. It is split in three pieces, one of which you already posses. The other two are hidden somewhere, by the Knights long ago. I will give you some power, then when it is complete, you will be able to destroy anyone who stands in your way.**_

"Well then, I guess it is time to return to Elrios!" Darkside declared, and created a rift around him to transport himself away. As he vanished, Corraine jumped down from the rafters. "What a turn of events…" she whispered. Slowly, she walked to the pit of Darkness down which the Doctorman fell. "The Knight who was destined to save us…" she said morbidly. "Now locked away in Darkness…and the rising of an ancient evil does not help. If only…" Suddenly, from the ground nearby, two humans surfaced, a man and a woman. "See, Xila?" the man said. "I told you this would get us into the castle!" The woman sighed and responded, "This is the 8th time we've tried this, Xoudan. And look where we almost ended up!" The man looked at the swirling vortex of Darkness and shrugged. "True, but we didn't end up there, now did we?" Then Xoudan noticed Corraine in front of him. "And who is this lovely lady?" he said, slicking back his hair.

Corraine responded indignantly, "Corraine, and watch your mouth!" Xila pushed Xoudan aside. "Sorry about my brother. I am Xila, and this is Xoudan, my twin. We are the Doctorman's most trusted generals, and we knew he was here, so we decided to come rescue him, and let him know we succeeded in our mission." Corraine looked at the ground, frowning. "I'm afraid he did not make it." She said glumly. "What!?" Xoudan exclaimed. "But he has never fallen in battle-he slayed armies of Dark warriors on his own!" Corraine looked away. "I'm sorry, but he fell down this very hole that you almost entered, protecting someone he loved deeply." Xila looked at the Dark vortex, and was silent. "Then I guess we will take over things here, and you…you are from that place he mentioned…Elrios, correct?"

Corraine nodded. "Return there, Corraine." Xila told her. "We can handle things here. I'm sure that it would be what your love wanted." Corraine looked up and shook her head. "He was not my love, he was a friend. His love is Dawn, Priestess of Light. If he wanted me to do anything, it would be to watch over her." Without further explanation, Corraine used her magic to teleport to Dawn using the traces left behind by her transportation by Darkside. "Why can't we do that?" Xoudan asked his sister. "Because we would have a hard time controlling it, and you would use it for more than just scouting." "I don't know what you're talking about," Xoudan replied, suppressing a grin.


	23. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

Dawn just lay on the ground, weeping. "Why?" she sobbed. "Just when I found him again, he is killed! Why!?" No one was around to comfort her, as she was alone in a room in the castle. "Why did he have to die, El Lady, why?" The door unlocked behind her, and a familiar voice said, "I'm sorry, Dawn…" She turned around to find Corraine standing in the cell doorway. "It's my fault…I should never have brought you on that mission," she said solemnly. Dawn looked at her, and then said, "No, Corraine. I should have been more patient." Her tears began to well up again. "If I hadn't insisted on coming, this would not be an issue." Suddenly, Eskora came up from the ground. _It is neither the fault of the Dark Elf or you, Lady Dawn. Darkside planned this, yet he still is not satisfied. He still feels he failed in slaying the Doctorman, and I'm sure he is right in thinking so. _"What do you mean?" Dawn asked, hope returning to her eyes. _I may have known the Doctorman for the shortest time among us, I know how resourceful he is. I'm sure that he did not die from that Dark bolt, and he most likely will find some way through the Dark Void, _Eskora explained. _I would not be surprised if he found a way to Elrios through it. The Void leads to many places. _

Dawn was stunned, a smile stuck on her face. "Then we have to get to Elrios right away!" she declared. "Corraine, you know how to take us home, right?" The Dark Elf nodded. "Take us there, and Eskora, I think you should come too." The Doomarian hand moved downwards, as if nodding. _But we can't go immediately to the Chosen. I would be struck down on the spot. For now, our presence needs to be hidden from them. _"But my mother must be worried beyond belief!" Dawn said. "I don't know how long I've been in here!" "Not for very long," Corraine said. "It has only been half a day since we first left the Core to scout the demon base." "Then let's sneak home, leave a note saying that we are alright, and then go blend in to the world, doing good as we can," Dawn said. "Agreed, and I think we should try and make our way to Sander," Corraine suggested. "Ara is the wisest of the Chosen, and probably has knowledge about whatever Darkside is up to." "Then what are we waiting for," Dawn said firmly, standing up. "Let's go-Sander awaits!"

Ara stood over the wounded, bloodied man. _This can't be who we are waiting for! _The Gumiho said dejectedly. _He has a smell of Darkness on him, one that has seeped into his skin!_ "Yes, but that is exactly why this is that warrior," Ara responded, picking up the young man. "A warrior of Light with the power of Darkness…This is who we waited for." She took him back to the village of Sander, and as she did so, she felt him stir. "Dawn…are you..alright?" Before Ara could respond, he passed out again. _He is delusional. He needs treatment right away!_ Ara realized, and she quickened her pace. Behind her, there was a figure standing alone, cloaked in a brown dusty robe. "Yes, have your rest…I want to crush you at your strongest!"

**END OF BOOK 2**


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